Don’t Stress Yourself or Else You’ll Wreck Yourself

I have this thought that has been on my waking mind for the past week. It has to do with stress.

We say, “I have a high threshold for stress”  like it was a badge of honor or something. Why the hell is that a good thing, anyway?

Why do we pat ourselves on the back and boast about having a high stress tolerance? Shouldn’t this be a bad thing? What ever happened to balance?

Stress is designed to be a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.  It is supposed to be a temporary state…not one that lasts a lifetime. It is designed to make us pay attention to what is going on…make us more productive and driven to make things happen for a short period of time. 

In our society, NOT having a high stress level threshold is seen as a sign of weakness.

Having too high of a consistent level of stress is a bad thing. A very bad thing. It not only effects your health, it effects those around you. We should not celebrate high stress levels. We should appreciate and commend those with true balance…those who have figured out that the more stress tolerance you have, the more stress you have. Congratulations! 

We have to recognize that a constant level of stress in our lives only breeds dysfunction, less empathy, constant pressure, and operating well below our true potentials. Think about times when stress is high…are you thinking clearly? Or are you worried about the pressure that you are under to get something done? Are you living your life in a frenzy? Chaos? When we allow ourselves to take on high stress all of the time, everyone suffers.We become gluttons for punishment because we believe that we can just take everything on with no worry about our limitations or need for rest and relaxation.

So what do we do? LOWER our tolerance for stress. Don’t take so much on. Say, “NO.” Know your limitations.

Have enough self-awareness to pay attention to when you feel stress. If you start to feel it, it is because you are fast approaching your limitations. Take a quick break for yourself. Stop accepting so many things into your never-ending pile of things to do. Delegate. Ask for help.

Set proper expectations with others as to what you can and cannot do…what you are willing to do or not do.  Draw boundaries.

Meditate. Pray. Journal.Work out. Pay attention to yourself!!

There HAS to be a balance.

Not too much, but not too little. Balance.

I don’t know about you, but I am so over living my life in a frenzy. It is just not worth it. The constant high levels of stress that I put upon myself because of decisions I made really took a toll on me and those that I love. It was always, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” and “More! More! More!”

Now I say, “NO.”  I have really taken my life back. Living life in a constant state of feverishness was basically insanity! No more.

So today I leave you with my thoughts on stress…we really all need to reevaluate ourselves and stop accepting “high stress level management” as a trophy.

Lower your tolerance to stress and you will have less stress. It is that simple!