Most people set goals for themselves and by doing so stress themselves out in an effort to attain those goals. Goals are good, but stress is not. We feel stressed when we are forced to handle more than what we are used to. Yes, we should always be working towards a goal in our lives so that goals will indeed become second nature to us and our bodies. We should also learn to manage the stress that comes from setting those goals and use it to our advantage.
The ideal thing would be to totally eliminate stress from our bodies, but since that’s not possible, let us manage stress and use it to our advantage. Have you ever heard someone say…person A handles stress so much better than that person B? Well Person A is just better at managing stress. When we are stressed our bodies respond as though in danger. Some stress is normal and can be useful. Our hearts speed up, we breathe faster and we feel energized. How many times have we said or heard someone say “I feel so energized, I feel like taking on the world today”. A little stress will help if you need to react quickly. That burst of energy or rush of adrenalin to the brain can help you win the race or beat the deadline.
But here is the bad thing. If you are over stressed, it can have bad long lasting effects, such as headaches, upset stomach, back aches, sleepless nights, a weak immune system and more. It can make you moody, unnecessarily upset or depressed. It can affect your work, your personal relationships, family life, school, religion etc. So in closing my advice is (1) set goals that are attainable (2) manage your stress so you can use it to your advantage. Use it to achieve those attainable goals. Use it to put you on top.