PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT STRESS LESS “Remember that stress doesn’t come from what’s going on in your life. It comes from your thoughts about what’s going on in your life.” - Andrew J. Bernstein Friends, I ain’t telling you how to live, perhaps think instead about changing lanes. Move over to the slow lane, hang out with some turtles. When you are overwhelmed with a to-do-list that is growing at the rate of Popeye Chicken franchises in Ontario, and reaching the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, it’s time to stop and take a pause. You are STRESSED! How are you best going to diffuse this moment before you explode like Canada Day fireworks? We can’t eliminate stress from our lives, no matter how hard we try, but we can become resilient to stress. We can take control of our thoughts that are contributing to sometimes feeling like a whirling dervish about to take flight. Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances. Stress can be heightened by a situation out of your comfort zone. By training yourself to become more resilient to stress, you will reduce your level of stress by understanding the situation, your abilities, and options. You will become calm as a baby at rest, objective as a judge, practical as a good theory, proactive as a politician, oriented on solutions, and not on problems. You get the drift. Stop overthinking and panicking! Instead, start observing and assessing then seeking solutions that lead to action. Anything less is a missed opportunity for growth. Reframing the situation is one way of changing the way you look at something and, thus, changing your experience of it. It can turn a stressful event into either something highly traumatic or a challenge to be overcome bravely. Or it can depict a really bad day as a mildly low point in an overall wonderful life. Or it can see a mistake as a learning experience.
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Catch yourself when you’re slipping into negative and stress-inducing patterns of thinking. Are your thoughts true? Is what you’re telling yourself even true? Adopt thoughts that fit your situation AND reflect a more positive outlook. When you’re looking at a potentially stressful situation, see if you can view it as a challenge versus something negative. That’s the gist of reframing - it can have a major impact on your experience of stress. Changing the way you look at your life can truly change your life. Who knows, you may end up like Nicole Kidman portraying Lucille Ball in the recently released “Being the Ricardos”. Spending too much time focusing on trying to climb the proverbial mountain of things to do contributes to anxiety and stress. So back to building resilience to stress – if by using the Loreal skin care line, you can increase your skin’s resilience – anything is possible. The stress is just in our heads.
AMANDA KIRKLAND
Personal Development Coach www.amandakirkland.com
I am passionate about my work because I’ve experienced first-hand the life-changing results and shifts possible when working with the unconscious mind. If you are interested in making positive changes in your life, let’s book an initial consultation call. Tell me your story and we can evaluate where you are right now and where you want to be and identify what’s blocking you from achieving the results you desire. My coaching programs use specific ENLP tools the can rewire unhealthy strategies and break through existing challenges to find more ease and joy in your life. These tools are different because they uncover the root cause of surfacelevel problems. We will clear these blocks at the unconscious and cellular level allowing you to see effective results over a short time. Email me at amanda@amandakirkland.com or visit www.amandakirkland.com to connect!
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