This is a test …
Did you know reducing our stress can oftentimes be boiled down to “trusting” our gut instinct in a situation?
Our lives are filled with ‘tests’ -
like trying out a new recipe for the family, or taking a car for a test-drive, or how about going to a store that’s been advertising a sale and you just stop by to see if the prices are really low enough to make a difference. Sometimes we test things to reduce our stress … like, we’re working and working on something and it’s just not ‘clicking’ and so, we go at it from another direction. There are times we check to see ‘which way the wind’s blowing’ before proceeding down a path we’re interested in. How many times have you ‘tested the water’ … figuratively and actually?
Testing can be a good thing and it also can be bad … for instance, there are times we involve others in our tests – like the aforementioned recipe – but also, just in life. We can test a new idea out on our spouse – ‘I wonder if he/she will like this?” And of course, as kids we tested our parents. “Hmmm … I wonder if I can get away with this?” Or “If I do this one time, maybe they won’t notice.” It could be we try something after we’ve been warned against it and we do end up in serious trouble.
I guess it’s just human nature – we want to be sure of something, or we just want to know for ourselves the truth of the matter. We all want to have confidence and this quest of self-assurance usually involves “testing”. Testing a thing out may mean we end up going another route in life and that can be a good thing. Sometimes this takes us into unknown waters … are we going to sink or swim or have to just float a while as we wait for the results?
Stress in these situations can be used to our advantage. When we know we are going against the code of right and wrong and we begin to feel stress we can adjust our behavior. Stop the negative action and your stress will reduce. Or it may just be that your confidence in a certain project is really lacking – listen to your stress and make a decision not to go there or buy that, or you could just be re-affirmed and confidence is regained – hooray! And then again, sometimes we’ve been asked to help with something and we know our plate is fuller than full – like, one more helping of anything and it will be running over and life will really be messy. Try as you might you wonder if you’ll ever get it all cleaned up.
Listen to your stressors and life will be more manageable. That is how we’re made … this wonderful emotional make-up of who we are as people. The problems arise when we ignore the initial feelings of stress and then do nothing about them. Stress will not go away unless you actively take part in making it so. You control each of your choices and stress, when used correctly will guide you in those choices.
So, word of caution – test the waters if you must, but, calculate the depth, your strength, and how the wind is blowing – it could make all difference in the final outcome. Think, think, think and trust your stress!
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