Okay. Yipee. Let's get to destressing ;0)
The number one question posed to me by total strangers, who find out what I do, is, "What is the number one way to destress yourself?"
That is a super duper great question, and many people seem like they are looking for a technique like taking a bubble bath, or learn to deep breathe, or meditate, which are all great ways to destress. But, truly, the number one way to destress yourself is to literally move away from stress and stress is primarily caused by the nervous expectations of the mind.
What are the nervous expectations of the mind? They are, "I gotta be (fill in the blank), I gotta do (fill in the blank), or I gotta have (fill in the blank)" When we believe we gotta be, do, have something, our mind can get very intense about it. The intensity of the mind creates fear, and fear creates stress. You know that ole fight or flight response right? Well, people tend to create it in the mind, when in reality it is unnecessary.
The number one way to destress (move away from stress/lower stress) is to look at the bigger picture of life by answering these questions...
1. What is my passion?
2. What is my philosophy of life?
3. What is the purpose of life?
How are these questions going to destress anyone? LOL. Great question. When we look at and discover the bigger picture we can worry less about the little things that are creating our stress. When we look at and discover the answers to these questions, we can live a bigger purpose and deeper happiness.
My passion is serving the Lord, and that means loving and serving His people. Truly, this is amazing to me because it makes me feel like I am really making a difference in my life, and in the world. I feel lucky, all the time, every day. When I feel like that, I rarely see stress. ;0)
My philosophy of life is to love God. When I love God, happiness comes from within, and I live less for external sources of instant gratification. When I love God, it is easy to love others, and it is easy to have faith in the process of life, and in others.
It is my humble opinion that the purpose of life is to return to Heavenly Father with learned lessons of faith and love. Believing this helps me to realize how important faith is, and how important love is. When I realize how important faith and love are, I live for these purposes. It is repeated in the scriptures to have faith, which is the opposite of fear, and fear causes much unnecessary stress. Are you living for faith or fear?
In the scriptures, it says that the greatest commandment is to love God. "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." ~Matthew 22:37
I guess I could say, my passion, philosophy, and purpose in life are all based on that scripture. That is how I look at the big picture of life, and that is the number one way I destress myself.
It works for me, and I am confident, it will work for you if you know the answers to those questions ;0)
Do you know the answer to these questions that I pose? Have you ever even considered them?
Just something to think about on your journey toward a less stressed life.
Have a super duper alli ooper day. Love you Sugah!
Elizabeth Stanfill
