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PROGRAM D-6951
STRESS! Does your life seem to be filled up with stress all too often? Well, I don’t think we can expect to live a totally stress-free life, but I think we can learn to cope with it. I’d like to share some stress-reducing techniques I’ve found helpful.
Stress is usually a result of little frustrations that build up during the day. Here are some hints on alleviating that stress when you start to feel it building:
1. Learn to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Now, you may not have thought about this as a stress-reducer but it is. For example, if you work with someone who just gets under your skin for some reason or another that can cause you a lot of stress. Well, when you can put yourself in their shoes and think of why they are the way they are, or realize that you might be the same way if you had their problems or their background, that immediately reduces the irritation you feel toward that person, and your stress level goes down. If you don’t believe me, just try it. Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes is a biblical principle that helps you treat them right and reduces your stress at the same time.
2. Continually look for the long term perspective. Here’s how I do that: I ask myself: What difference will this make in twenty-four hours? Many of the things which cause us stress are very temporary, and if you just stop and ask yourself what the long term effect is, usually after the twenty-four hour test you have to admit that it really won’t matter, and so you’re not nearly so upset or frustrated about it.
3. Read the Bible. I find that when the stress is building, as soon as I can sit down and start reading that blessed Word of God, in a very few minutes I can actually feel the stress subside.
4. Sing a good song. Think of a song that is uplifting and sing it out loud.
5. Find something to laugh about, and laugh out loud. Laughing is a wonderful release of tension and stress, and you’ll discover that the frustration and stress take a downward dive with a good laugh.
Well, I hope you’ll keep these suggestions in mind and try them when you’re beginning to feel stressed out. I think they’ll work for you, too.