How to Stay on Top

How does one stay on top of things? Many if not all of my clients seem to suffer from too-busy-syndrome. No one talks about stress anymore. It is just an accepted part of life. You’re alive. You have a job (or 2 or 3) and you have stress. No one wants to reduce stress. Stress is the new status symbol. The more stress you have, the more important you are.

But in my research I have found that it is desirable to have a way to manage stress. Yes, every life is stressful. Even good things like weddings and births stress us. Even imagined things like worrying about getting laid off exert stress on us. Stress may be necessary to motivate us. If we never felt hunger, we would never bother to hunt for food. But too much stress causes memory loss, irritability and physical illness. We know it causes anxiety attacks and even heart attacks. So how do we find that balance between stress that motivates us and stress that kills?

I think self-hypnosis is the best way. It is something you can do every day, as many times per day as necessary, and it’s relatively inexpensive. You don’t need any special equipment and the risk of injury is low. You can learn it quickly and easily. And if done every day, you receive all the benefits of the relaxation response. You will sleep better, concentrate more easily, have more patience, and improve your physiology. Practicing self-hypnosis just 10 minutes per day can lower your blood pressure, if high. It raises your frustration tolerance, which means that you feel more calm and in-control, even in traffic. That means less Road Rage!

So it is a good idea to stay on top of your stress level. Top of the morning to you!