Managing Stress By Making Time For Serenity

By Dick Biggs

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Plagued by stress, a growing number of people say they think time is becoming more precious than money and they're trying to slow down."

--U. S. News & World Report cover story and survey

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A stress fracture is supposed to be very painful. It happens when a bone "has been subjected to repeated stress" and develops a "hairline fracture." Did you know that your body is no different than a single bone? If subjected to enough stress, your body will break down and you could experience physical, mental and emotional pain, or even disease and death.

Webster's defines stress as "a state of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter existent equilibrium." In other words, if your tension level gets out of balance, you could suffer a stress fracture of the body!

Frankly, a stress-free life is idealistic and would be boring. On the other hand, a stressed out life can lead to burn out, which is the extinguishing of your spiritual, mental, physical or emotional enthusiasm. Between boring and burn out, there's a balance based on managing stress by making time serenity.

What are your biggest stressors? More importantly, are you offsetting your stress with times of tranquility? In today's competitive business world, such a delicate balance is difficult but doable if you're willing to simplify your life.

For example, Judy and I use the week between Christmas and New Year's to plan the stress-free moments of our lives for the coming year. We know we can't eliminate all the stress from our professions, so we schedule specific moments of serenity in our personal lives. We plan things like vacations, weekend getaways, marriage retreats, church and community outreach projects, personal growth seminars, family reunions, etc.

We've learned that the year has a way of getting away from us if we don't schedule specific stress-free times on our calendars. Actually, just having some fun events to look forward to is a form of stress relief. And when we're able to enjoy some spontaneous tranquility, that's a welcomed bonus.

In short, we manage stress by making time for serenity. Apparently, we aren't the only ones who've decided enough is enough. In the U. S. News & World Report survey cited above, Americans were asked to rank the major areas where they wanted to spend their time. The top five on "The Happiness Index" were"

-- Family life (68%).
-- Spiritual life (46%).
-- Health (44%).
-- Financial situation (24%).
-- Jobs (23%).

Where do you stand on this index? Could you use a little less work and a lot more stress relief? If so, I urge you to take control of your life and make some bold changes. You'll be happier, healthier and, yes, even more productive at work.

                              

If you and your organization would like to learn more about stress management, please e-mail or call Dick Biggs at (770) 886-3035 for more information.