Let’s be
honest: many of us are anxious or stressful, or even depressed. Why?
- Multitasking
- Overscheduling
- Overworking
- Overreacting to upsetting situations
- Not exercising enough
- Poor nutrition habits
- Poor social habits
The truth is
that we do too much, or too little, of wayyy too many things. In other words, we’re out of balance.
Granted, we
cannot control some things in our lives, or get rid of certain stressors. For
instance, we must deal with health challenges and our children. They aren’t
going away. We can’t toss them in the trash when we’re “done” with them.
What is the Solution?
There are ways that we can limit our anxiety.
I mentioned one of them in my last blog post here:
realize that our problems are temporary. In this article, I will discuss two
more ways to reduce stress:
1. Prioritize—Quite a few of us have more
responsibility than we can handle. We can barely keep our heads above water as
we swim in domestic, career, and social duties. Often, the only way to remain
sane is to choose to accomplish the most important tasks; the rest will have to
wait.
Here’s a situation:
it would be nice to have lunch with friends, but you have an important project
to finish.
Physical limitations, illness, and other trauma are bound to happen. At such times, we also need to focus on only our top priorities, even if only temporarily. It makes sense, if you think about it.
Physical limitations, illness, and other trauma are bound to happen. At such times, we also need to focus on only our top priorities, even if only temporarily. It makes sense, if you think about it.
2. Simplify—Some of us have high standards. We
like to accomplish many tasks, and we are willing to spend as much time as it
takes to get them done. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right,” is our
motto.
However, such
an attitude can lead to disappointment. Our time and energy are limited. Logically speaking, if I spend three hours on
a project that was supposed to have taken one hour, I will be taking time away
from other important tasks.
Some of us also
take on too many duties. This overload causes stress. For instance, most
authors work harder than I do to promote their book, gain new followers, write another
book, and so forth. I have to limit the
time I spend on my writing career because of challenges in my life that require
my time and energy. I must draw the line somewhere.
My Conclusion
It’s easy to
get overwhelmed by the complexity of life. Such a feeling can lead to stress,
or something worse. That’s why it’s important to concentrate on the most
important tasks and simplify them as much as possible.
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in
knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best
and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,”—Philippians 1:9-10
Related Posts
Are you spending time on what’s most
important?
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