I am stressed out!

Then Ralph said he heard something like this from Wayne Dyer...
Go get a bucket and fill it up with stress. ...What?! You can't do it? Why not?

Because stress is all about perception.
It's not something we can go "get".
It's something we invent.
Stress is "our response to events we perceive as threatening to our needs".
Key word in here... PERCEPTION!

Perception.
My sister-in-law is the general manager for a large casino. Lots of employees. Lots of responsibility. Lots of change. Lots of stress.
She was talking to a family member, saying how stressed she was.
The family member, a server at the casino, said "I know what you mean!"
Oh my gosh, what is going on in her life that I don't know about? What could be so bad? "What is going on?" she asked.
"I am three issues of PEOPLE magazine behind in my reading and it's so stressful!"
Perception.

Perception.
I know a gal who moved here from the Washington DC suburbs. Keep that in mind. DC suburbs to small town Nebraska.
She was in the car with a friend, stopped at traffic signals at a highway and street intersection near our mall. (A whole 'nother pecerption issue. What is a mall? I digress.) The friend was apologizing about "all the traffic!"
The gal from DC said she looked around. Saw about 7 cars ... and rolled her eyes.
Perception.

We each have our own perception of STRESS, too!
We perceive it, we think it, we invent it.

So what I've been trying to do is this.
When I'm stressed about something, I find the blessing.
Like ..."My neck and shoulder hurt so bad! Thank goodness for Tylenol."
or ... "I really don't like all the driving I have to do. Thank goodness I don't have to take a hand cart or a horse!"
or ... "I don't have time to get all the things done I really want to. Need to! Thank goodness I have a washer, dryer, dishwasher (go on and on) and don't have to do all that the old fashioned way!"
or ... "My job is so stressful. They don't understand me. They don't appreciate me. They drive me crazy! Thank goodness I have a job to go to."
or ... "Gas went up again?! It costs a fortune to drive. Thank goodness I have a car."
or ... "My family drives me nuts! Why do they do what they do?! God love 'em and thank goodness God loves me for putting them in my life."

You get the gist. I hope this little tip will help you like it's helped me.

I reframe my thoughts and look for the good. It helps me stay balanced.

In abundance,
Anita Lewandowski Brown