The times that we live in today can be terribly busy and often stressful. Stress was originally our body’s response to an attack on its very survival. Being chased by a killer Lion or being faced by a famine or flood or any such life threatening event was a common cause of stress. Basically stress during the human’s hunter gatherer day’s would come in waves. It would last for a short while and as soon as the stress causing event was over it would wane. In our modern world unfortunately there is no time for the waning process of stress. Even though we no longer have to run for our lives away from chasing lions stress has got all pervasive and ever present. It is ever present and never on the wane. That is why it causes maximum damage. What you should be looking out for is to increase the times when your body /mind does not have to be stressed out and so can be relaxed. The world is moving at an extremely fast pace and we may not be able to keep up to it always. Here are a few ways by which you can manage stress and continue being busy all at the same time.

Breathe: Breathing is so important in dealing with stress and yet it is so overlooked. Breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and this in itself reduces anxiety and increases a state of being calm. Breathing is the first thing we do when we are born and the last thing we do before we die. Breath controls life and it is an important factor for relieving stress. Every time you feel stressed out, go to a quiet place and breathe deeply. Inhale to a count of 4, hold for a count of 4 and release to a count of 7 and hold for a cunt of 2. Repeat this cycle a couple of times. This will immediately make you feel lighter.

Remove interruptions: While focussing on work turn off all unnecessary distractions like, social media, phone calls, messages and so on. These distractions can make you feel stressful and make you feel like you have unending tasks on your platter. Get rid of them and you will immediately feel way better.

Have a to-do list: It is particularly important to have a to-do list that will help you keep track of the number of tasks that you need to work on through the day along with their status. What helps is if you create your to-do list the previous night before going to bed, that way you wake up knowing what you need to do and begin actively working on it immediately. The very act of ticking off the tasks that you have completed gives you a sense of achievement and albeit in small quantities releases into your body happy hormones.

Exercise: Take out 20 minutes each day to get some form of exercise. It could be a 20 minute walk, yoga or lifting weights. Choose any form that you are comfortable doing and get on with it each day. This will keep your body strong, refreshed and focused.

Relax and Unwind: A lot of people stress out because they do not know how to relax. Unfortunately relaxation is not taught in any school. It has to be self-learned. Try and find out what is the best way for you to relax. Is it just closing your eyes and deep breathing? Or is it sitting in a dark room for a few minutes in silence? Is it watching a movie? Is it dining at your favourite restaurant? Is it playing a musical instrument? Find out the desired way of relaxation, make sure you do it for at least 15 minutes each day to relieve you of stress.

It is not worth stressing too much. Stress till a point can be quite positive but beyond it can be devastating. In fact the revered positive thinker and my guru Dr. Norman Vincent Peale once said that the only place where one could be stress free and at absolute peace was in the cemetery- 6 feet below ground! By implication stress is an indication of life!

I’ve worked on an amazing program titled “Peace of Mind can be Yours if Only You Will Receive it” – click on this to take you to the FREE version of it. You can never force peace to come to you. You can’t even pressurize it. If you aren’t feeling it, it is because you aren’t calling it the way you should and so you aren’t going to have it!