How To Overcome Stress

Stress and burnout is another reason why people don’t stay on course. Many people become overwhelm by stress in their lives. Stress is when a person’s mind, body, and spirit begin to lose energy; when energy is lost then usually one of the three: mind, body, or spirit, begins to lose momentum and begin to deteriorate. Burn out is when you no longer have the drive and can’t keep up with your current rate or pace you are going in your life.

Your body is like a capsule that keeps your spirit here on earth. Your body is like a delicate shield. When you constantly have stress in your life, you are constantly being bombarded with blows of stress that hits your shield (your body). Your body can only take so much stress to the point it turns to burnout and after burnout it can fester into illness such as: high blood pressure, heart attack, arthritis, and more. You must find and get rid of the things that are causing your stress.

Everything you do requires energy. There are various types of energy and they are: emotional energy, spiritual energy, mental energy, and physical energy which are used together in order to face and deal with everyday society.

Do you have the energy left in your life to pursue your dream and purpose? Do you have time to focus on your true purpose? What is causing your stress and preventing you from staying focused and following your purpose? Now let’s take out your journal. Clear your mind and relax. Think peaceful thoughts and breathe in and out. What is stressing you? Is it your job? Are you angry with someone? Are you worrying about something you need to do? Are you worried about your bills? Are you worried about someone? Write what is stressing you down in your journal. Pay attention as to how much energy you use in focusing and worrying about these things.

Now start to channel you energy back on your purpose and your dreams. It feels good doesn’t it? When you start to have negative thoughts and worry about things that are beyond your control, that is when you begin to feel stressed. Start replacing these thoughts with positive ones and channel your focus on the things that you can control, such as yourself. In my book, Purpose Lies Within: A Motivational Book for the Heart & Soul, I mentioned that you can not change anyone else but yourself. So stop wasting your precious energy trying to make people do what you think they should do in their lives. Stay on course by making sure you are on track. My father, Dr. Johnnie Swanson, always tells me to, “Stop sticking your nose in other folk’s business because when you are up in someone else's business, you are letting your own business run away from you.”

In order to remove stress in your life, it takes gradual steps to remove things that are standing in your way. The first thing you must do is relax. The next step is to start prioritizing and arranging things in your life. And the last step is to find out the source that is causing your stress and get rid of the source that is causing you to be stressed.

Overcoming Stress Worksheet:

At the end of this chapter is a stress worksheet to help you find out where your energy is going. The worksheet has a list of some of the sources that stress people out. Please go through this list and breathe. Clear you mind and let the spirit guide you in answering these questions. Check off the items that pertain to you and if you have more to add then include it with the other items on the list.

Each item you check is worth four percent. The highest score of stress level is 100%. You should go back to your list in your journal and check it again. Add up your points to see if your stress level has lowered. For instance when you first did your Overcoming Stress Worksheet, you scored 80% and then two months later you have made some changes in your life to help reduce your stress level and you scored 70%; then 70% means that your stress level has lowered by 10% and that means that some of the changes you have made in your life may be working.

My Surroundings
___I do not live in a safe environment.
___I would like to live somewhere else.
___My home is messy.
___I have a lot of distractions (such as looking at the TV too much).
___My home needs repair and decorating.

My Mind, Body, & Spirit
___I eat unhealthy food.
___I have low self esteem.
___I lack spiritual guidance and nourishment.
___I feel unmotivated.
___I do not take care of my health.

My Relationships
___I need to forgive someone.
___I am holding a grudge against someone.
___I am angry with someone.
___I am in an unhealthy relationship.
___I need to resolve a problem with a love one/relative.

My Finances
___I spend more that I make.
___I am in debt.
___I don’t have a future plan for my finances.
___I can barely pay my bills.
___I have bad credit.

My Career/Business
___I do not like my job.
___I do not feel fulfilled in my present career.
___I am at a dead end job.
___I have a business idea but don’t pursue it.
___I let my fear stand in my way of moving up in my career/business.