Stress

We have the opportunity to choose how the experiences we have in this life affect us. With the right attitude, life's happenings, good or bad, can be used to help us move along in this sojourn called mortality. I feel that too often we allow the things we see as being negative to overtake us and we become 'stressed out'. Things will happen in each of our lives that we can't control and that can have an impact on our outlook. I'm going to share how I have learned to deal with stress and then talk about how the feeling of being stressed can be beneficial.
A few months ago I bought a truck. It was something I had wanted for a very long time, it was beautiful. Almost every day that I owned it, I had an minor panic attack. The greatest contributor to those short, intense bouts with stress was the fact that I hadn't ever made such a large purchase and I didn't know how to handle it. I was making a decent amount of money and wasn't worried about being able to pay for the truck, it was more the idea of it and all the 'what-if' scenarios that run through a person's head. After a few months of owning it, I started to learn how to cope with this stress and this is how I did it: I would work through the absolute worse case scenario in my mind... I lose my job. I would sell my truck, guns, computer and anything else of value. I move home and live with my dad for a short time. Find another job and keep living. That's it. In the grand scheme of things, my worse case wasn't that bad.
I really don't think it's ever as bad as stress can make us feel it will be. I can't imagine of a greater potential emotional destruction than losing someone you love to death, broken relationship or addiction. If we need to go through something that big there will be some very difficult moments, yet, life goes on. We are given the chance to reevaluate our lives and we keep on keepin' on. I'm not saying those huge life events don't affect you, they do... but it's not the end of the world and with the right attitude, they can be a part of our progress.
I would venture to say that right attitude would be to see stress and trials as a motivation to get things done and be a better person. If you're out of work, the strain of not being able to provide for your family should motivate you to be proactive in finding a new job. If you're worried about a big chemistry test, you can use those feelings as motivation to study and be as ready as possible. When we go through a rough patch in life, we have an opportunity to look at our priorities and let the things that are truly important to us come out on top.
I am so grateful for this life and the things it has taught me. I feel like I learn something new everyday and I'm grateful for that too. I'm not sure where I'd be without the love and support of my family and friends through the ups and downs. I truly hope we can all see the good in the bad and use those stressful times for our benefit.

If it ever gets to be too much, don't forget you can 

always get one of these....best stress relief I know of :)