Stress Is Speeding Up Life - 6 Things You Can Do To Slow Down

[rosemary wahlberg]

Life is moving faster today than even a couple of years ago! It is not
a figment of your imagination! There are so many potential stressors
today and most have been with us since humans have been on the planet.
For instance, a new baby in the family was just as stressful three
thousand years ago as it is today. Let's take a quick look at a number
of relatively new stressors that even our grandparents had little
knowledge of or experience with:
INFORMATION OVERLOAD - the ever increasing knowledge base is growing
so rapidly that no one can keep up, not even those who look like they
are! Information overload is a serious stress reality today and each
of us has to find a way to manage all the information to our own
advantage or it will overwhelm us.
CONSTANT RAPID CHANGE - coming out of the information explosion is
constant rapid change. Change is not new to life on this planet but
never has it been so constant and rapid. We humans are creatures of
habit and changes tend to always be stressful, even changes we
perceive to be positive. Learning the skills needed to manage the
rapid pace of change today in the family, at work and in society is
essential to managing our stress.
DECISIONAL OVERLOAD - information overload and constant change leads
to decisional overload. Consider all the choices and options we all
have every day. Whether it is our work, social opportunities or
variety of food products, you cannot but be faced with literally
hundreds of choices and decisions every day. Someone said a few years
ago that we are bombarded with over 2000 advertising messages every
day, probably more now. We can easily become overwhelmed and while we
block out most of these messages we must develop effective strategies
so we can thrive in this new, every changing and multi-opportunity
world.
THEN THERE IS TECHNO-STRESS - one lady said the power when out in her
house for five minutes and she had to set twenty-three clocks. Ever
present worldwide news, cell phones, pagers and the list goes on and
on, invade our world with relentless negativity and urgency. Add to
all of this: global terrorism, global epidemics and major natural
disasters. We can easily worry ourselves into a frenzy day and night.
How can we manage these new stressors? Here are a couple of stress
management tips.
1. LEARN HOW TO MANAGE THE INFORMATION EXPLOSION, daily flowing in and
out of your life. Find ways to sort out the essential from the
interesting and the urgent from the important. The internet is a
wonderful tool but we must learn how to use it effectively otherwise
it can waste a lot of valuable time and frustrate you at the same
time.
2. LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE WHERE YOU CAN. Do you
really need to move into that new house this year'even though you can
afford it?
3. FIND WAYS TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF DECISIONS IN ANY GIVEN DAY.
Delegate or eliminate as much as possible. I remember years ago
reading about a habit of Ann Landers when if she found a particular
dress she liked. She would buy two or three in different colors to
limit her shopping decisions. Not a bad idea or example.
4. MAXIMIZE THE POSITIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY. Must you have every new
gadget that is produced? Remember also that technology can run 24/7
but you can't.
5. TAKE A MEDIA FAST OCCASIONALLY. Maybe weekly, for a few hours, a
whole day, and sometimes longer, possibly for a week or two. World
problems will all continue without you knowing about them. The stress
break can do wonders to help you relax.
6. REFUSE TO ALLOW ALL THE NEGATIVE LOCAL AND WORLD NEWS TO MAKE YOU
PESSIMISTIC, CYNICAL OR PARANOID. Choose to be positive and optimistic
even when life is difficult. For more help on managing these new
stressors consider signing up for my FREE e-course entitled, 7 Days to
Enjoying the Stress of Your Life, to receive click on link below.