What Is Stressing You Out?

By Ahsan

If I were to ask you this question, what would you say?

I suppose it would depend on the moment I asked you. If you were getting going in the morning, you might think of everything you must do that day at work or the people you must deal with once you arrive.

A student may answer that their assignments and exams are piling up and they are stressed out. A mother might say she is stressed out by her kids and all the demands they put on her in a day on top of taking care of her responsibilities at the office and for her parents.

A golfer might say that the pressure of putting into the hole from four feet away causes unusual stress.

In other words, something must be stressing you out, and many things are quite understandably stressful, like situations, people we interact with and life itself!

I believe President Lincoln said, "Most people are about as happy as they make their minds up to be." He was probably stating that life is bound to be stressful and to be happy despite it, one needs to use the inner strength of one's mind to JUST BE HAPPY.

Abe was on to something.

The question "What is stressing you out?” to ascertain your personal list is a good one, but the better question to ask yourself is not this one.

The better question is: What do you allow yourself to get stressed by?

This question is the best question you could ask yourself today and every day because it will likely remind you that people and situations are not the actual cause of our stress.

If we allow others to upset us and cause us tension, we become puppets on a string and slaves to these people.

If we allow situations and circumstances to make us feel stressed, then we will never live happily or joyfully. We will only enjoy brief moments when everything seems to be going well and fear what is around the corner.

Life is a gift, as a friend recently commented. He has terminal cancer and knows that his days are numbered. Fortunately, he also lived his life saying for years that he is the happiest person alive because he has a purpose and never allows others to influence his behaviour. He chooses to be happy.

Life is a gift, and you do have a choice to make. That is the choice to view life as an experience that can trigger a stress response or an exhilarating experience where you grow and thrive. You can choose to ignore and reframe the event into something that can be useful and even fuel your progress in some way.

The other day, I listened to a song that asked the following question: Who set the world on fire?

The next verse was: It was me who set the world on fire!

To me, the song's words meant that life or the world is not in our control. Things are bound to happen that we don't like, but it is really up to us how we take it all in. Do we stay happy regardless or become stressed out?

Dear friends, live this life that could end at any time with a new way of responding and thinking.

Your ability to think is also a gift.

When you feel stressed, tense, or upset, you are thinking about your circumstance and/or the people you tango with on a daily basis. That is the root cause of your levels of joy and anxiety in life.

Choose happiness and joy and relaxed thinking so you can sink more putts and smell more roses along the journey of life.

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