Stress

We all live with too much stress...if you are in college you are probably living with a lot of stress in your life. I know I am certainly guilty of over-stressing myself (every stress test i've taken has placed me in the high percentile of stress and risk of illness because of it). So I have decided to try to come up with ways to reduce stress and hopefully save my body from any terrible damage and try to share them here (and ask for any suggestions you've found helpful!). So far this is my list...still to be built longer...but a good start.

1. Pray. God is in control of all of this...I am learning. It's so easy to start stressing and then trying to fix and finish everything in your own power and while this succeeds for a little while, eventually it saps your spiritual walk with God [i found this out this semester] and leads to self-reliance with robs us of experiencing God's provision. So number one thing...always keep God in his proper place and keep talking to him and listening to him. I think that would solve a lot of problems.

2. Eat well. Sleep often. Schedule life with time for eating and sleeping...it keeps you from getting sick and worndown...which gives you more time in the long run. So hard to keep the long term perspective, but I think it can really help. 15 mins to do homework or try to read over lunch? Choose lunch...it keeps you awake and healty and you can so much more done when alert and healthy than when worn out and hacking your lungs to pieces.

3. Along those lines...schedule your time and stick to it. This also includes. NO PROCRASTINATION. Leaving everything to the last minute makes life a wreck...and schedule in time for things to go wrong...so then if one things takes a dive, the rest of your life does not crumble as a result.

4. Take 30 mins a day to relax. Read a book for fun, take a walk, listen to music, do something cathardaic. But give your mind and body a break...it will keep you going.

5. Invest in friends. Relationships make or break life and are (after God) probably one of the most rewarding things to invest in. God said the golden rule was to love God and then your neighbor. Isolating oneself only serves to make you more miserable, and alone, which cannot lift your spirits. Fellowship with others brings joy in a way solitude simply cannot...and by bearing one anothers burdens we can find and give the support we all need to make it through life.

6. Take time to be alone. This does not mean isolation, but take time to process life and let it sink in...sit under a tree and think about life for a bit. This can be worked into prayer time and relaxing time...but make sure there is time for solitary reflection. If all your time is spend working or with other people...life will just get stuck inside you, I think.

7. Don't get lured into overachieving. Recognize your boundaries and when you have enough to do, say no to anything else that comes you way. I suck a this...just in case anyone was wondering.

I realize, this all seems obvious, but I have realized that the obvious things are sometimes the easiest to ignore. I write this partially as a reminder to myself...hopefully I'll do it. I hope this may help anyone else too...if you have any further ideas to contribute, your thoughts are most welcome!