Stamp Out Stress


What you want to start doing is noticing your stress early, before it gets out of hand. When you feel your mind moving too quickly, its time to back off and regain your bearings. When your schedule is getting out of hand, its a signal that its time to slow down and reevaluate what's important rather than power through everything on the list.

When you're feeling out of control and resentful of all you have to do, rather than roll up your sleeves and get to it, a better strategy is to relax, take a few deep breaths, and go for a short walk. You'll find that when you catch yourself getting too stressed out early, before it gets out of control our stress will be like the proverbial snowball rolling down the hill. When its small, its manageable and easy to control. Once it gathers momentum, however, its difficult, if not impossible, to stop.

Richard Carlson, PH.D., in Dont Sweat the Small Stuff