How to Manage Stress
by Dawn Groves
 Life
doesn't have to be a process of ongoing damage control. There are many things we
can do to keep stress from eroding our health and happiness.
The fastest way to fix the problems in your life is to remove your stressors.
It's also the hardest. You may need to ask yourself how bad things have to get
before you'll put your health first. But don't worry; there are alternatives to
firing your boss, leaving your home, redesigning your spouse, or trading in your
body.
You've been hearing about these alternatives for years; now it's time to
take them seriously:
- Get enough sleep.
- Eat healthful foods.
- Exercise regularly.
Consider approaching this information with what Buddhists call a "beginner's
mind." A beginner's mind looks at old material with new eyes. It consciously
sets aside the jaded, sophisticated, often cynical mindset that dampens
enthusiasm and devalues the tried and true. A beginner's mind is open at the
top. It still believes in miracles. It says, "Okay, maybe there's more to this.
Maybe there's something I've missed."
It may be hard to create a beginner's mind in relation to the purely physical
issues of getting more sleep, eating healthful food, and exercising regularly.
They're frequently mentioned in just about every magazine printed. We know
they're important. So why don't we actually do them?
- We don't like old news. Our mothers told us to do these things when
we were children. Most of us would prefer something more exotic or entertaining.
- We're impatient. We don't want to work with nature; we're used to
jumping over it. Healthful sleeping, eating, and exercise practices work in
harmony with nature. Their benefits take time to manifest.
- We think that "difficult" means "wrong". If a project requires too
much effort, or if we meet with obstacles along the way, we think the project
must not be right for us. We've forgotten that people almost always encounter
resistance when they move in new directions. Almost everything easy was hard at
one time.
- We're always waiting for the perfect time. The perfect time doesn't
arrive on a white stallion; it is generated as we face up to our challenges.
Waiting only begets more waiting. Action begets action.
- We're tired of self-improvement. We're overwhelmed by the extent of
our imperfections and often give up before we start. Some of us have
successfully changed a few habits; we want that to be enough.
Changing your lifestyle takes effort, but it isn't impossible. Lots of people
have done it -- people with bigger problems and fewer resources than you.
There's an old saying: How you do one thing is how you do everything. I would
add to that: If you change how you do one thing, you change how you do
everything. Each change makes the next one easier. Noble projects have a
positive ripple effect in your life and in the lives of those around you.
Sometimes my daughter looks up from doing her homework and complains, "Momma,
it's so hard." I tell her, "You can do hard." My response comes from author Bo
Lozoff, director and cofounder of the Human Kindness Foundation and its
award-winning Prison Ashram Project. "Hard" isn't the enemy. It feels good to
complete something hard. "Hard" doesn't have to stop her -- or you.
This
article was excerpted from:
 Stress Reduction for Busy People: Finding Peace in an Anxious World
by Dawn Groves.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher, New World Library. ©2004.
www.newworldlibrary.com
Info/Order this book
About the Author
Dawn
Groves is a minister, author, and educator who addresses the challenges of
people attempting to combine professional achievement, spiritual growth, and a
balanced lifestyle. She teaches workshops and classes for the government,
private industry, community colleges, and spiritual centers throughout the
United States and Canada. She is the author of
Meditation for Busy People,
Massage for Busy People, and
Yoga for Busy People. For
information about Dawn's lectures, workshops, classes, and tapes, please visit
her website:
www.dawngroves.com
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