revolutionary in training

These days stress seems to be a part of everyday life and it’s a constant challenge to not let it rule your life or to make you crazy. The problem with stress is that it builds up over time, invading your mind and body with the stealth and success of a super-secret spy: you can’t see it but you definitely feel it’s effect. So how do you stay sane in a stressed out world where work problems and credit card bills loom around every corner? Here’s some tips to keep cool, calm, and collected.

Gotta Get Away

Sometimes you just need to get away from it all. Most of us can’t afford to hop on a plane and head off to a sunny vacation destination whenever we need to de-stress, so it’s particularly important to make time throughout the week to take a break and relax. Grab a good book or your favorite movie and escape into another life. My getaway is a walk on the beach with a cup of fine espresso. Whether you can manage a break once a week or once a day, I guarantee it’s worth making the time for yourself. You’ll feel rejuvenated and ready to get back to reality.

Learn to Deal

While you can’t avoid stress, you can learn to deal with it better. A lot of stress comes from interacting with other people so learning to cope with different personalities can make a big difference. If you typically let others run all over you, stand up for yourself. Or maybe you’re more like me and need a dose of humility; instead of running your mouth, stop and listen to your co-worker, friend, or spouse. Whatever your deal is, developing new people skills which enable you to have both healthy boundaries and positive relationships will lower your stress levels and make you a happier person all around.

Make Love, Not War

We’ve all heard that making love is good for you, but that’s not what I’m referring to here. When you’re feeling stressed out it’s all too easy to get frustrated and angry at people, especially the one’s you’re closest to. Instead of taking your stress out on your loved ones, or even absorbing their stress, make the choice to leave work problems at work and make the effort to create a positive, affirming atmosphere wherever you are. As the saying goes, make love, not war.

Be Active

Speaking of getting exercise, a critical component to reducing stress – and its impact on your body – is to keep an active life. You may not know it but stress is responsible for a lot of common ailments like headaches and stomach problems and even serious illnesses like Crohn’s Disease. So why wait for stress to eat away your livelihood? Getting regular exercise relieves a lot of these health problems and it can actually be enjoyable. Plus, you’ll sleep better, have more energy, and might even be ready to tackle that pile of dishes you’ve been avoiding all week.

Get Grateful

There are times in life when there’s not much you can do to make a stressful situation better. But there’s always something you can do to make yourself less stressed. Rather than focusing on all the negative things going on in your life, make the choice to concentrate on the good things. Sure, there’s a time to vent but that can easily become detrimental if you can’t move on to something more optimistic. By making a habit of directing your thoughts to things you’re grateful for, you’ll develop an attitude of gratitude, which will not only keep you sane but also the people who have to be around you every day.

There may not always be a lot you can do about the stressors in your life but if you follow these tips you’ll find you can stay sane despite it all… and you might even find a bit of happiness as well.