In today’s world, stress is the main cause for majority of the health related issues and other troubles in our life. Everybody, right from a pre-schooler to a retired person is busy with activities leading to a fast life. People are stressed out, which leads to a lot of health complications. Remember a peaceful heart leads to a healthy body.
In our childhood, we had so much of time on our hands and we enjoyed the small things that life had to offer. Today, technology has overtaken the small joys of life. Children are so used to smart gadgets and high technology items, that they do not find any time for free unstructured play in an open environment.
So let’s look at some tips which will help us to live a stress free life as a peaceful heart leads to a healthy body.
Ensure that your heart and conscience is clear.
Many people today are struggling with a guilty conscience. They feel deeply guilty about things that they have done to others or someone else has done to them. This makes their heart burdened, they lose their joy and their heart is heavy. One of the best ways to get rid of a guilty conscience is to have your personal prayer time with God. In my case, meditating on Bible scriptures encourages me to live a guilt free life. As I know that God loves me unconditionally and He knows the beginning from the end and He is not surprised by any events in my life. So when I falter and fall, I just ask God to forgive me and move on with my life. Believe me, it is a clean slate as you have unlimited second time opportunities with God and you will be free of condemnation, which is one of the main causes of stress.
Be adaptable to change.
Most of us today think that “My way or no way“. We are just too proud to accept or adapt any suggestions. Pride is one of the main causes of discontentment. Many a time, we want things our way and when we don’t get it, we are easily offended, leading to stress. However it is important to understand the truth which has been studied by modern research scholars, that we are happier when we remove the focus from us and make others happy. When you are adaptable to change, you will be happy and peaceful rather than to push back and be filled with strife and conflict.
Take hold of your lifestyle before you burnout.
In today’s fast world, everyone wants to do multitasking and pressing in more things in the same amount of time. Remember you have a body which will not be able to work like a machine, if you pack in too many things to do. The day will not be far when your body will collapse because of burn out.
Burn out will not happen in one day. It will slowly build up over a period of time. You will be too caught up in your day to day commitments that it is possible that you will ignore symptoms like exhaustion, feeling cranky, depression etc., which ultimately lead to burn out.
It is therefore wise to take note of your schedule and make it easier on your body before you burnout.
Cultivate Solitude.
We all have our families, children, husband, wife and other individuals who are important in our life, but there is also a need to be all alone and enjoy some quiet “me” time which will refresh your body and heal your soul. Prayer time is a good time to be alone with God. When you are in fellowship with man you cannot fellowship with God. It has to be your quiet time with God.
Solitude is very important as it will help you recover from the stress and weariness of life. Have some quiet time, wherein you enjoy the beauty of God’s creation such as a nature walk or just watch simple things like the morning sunrise, bird chirping etc., which will calm you and give you the necessary strength to face the rest of the day.
Don’t try to take care of everything and everybody.
Some people are stressed because they want to practically do everything for everybody. They are unable to assert themselves and say “No” when needed. It is humanely impossible to do everything and this leads to dissatisfaction and a low self-esteem in their lives. They feel that they have not done justice to the things that they have responsibility for, leading to high stress levels in their life.
It is important to prioritize and take over only those responsibilities which can be handled. It is good to help people as much as you can but remember not to become a professional caretaker and feel used up and stressed out.
Generosity.
Our generosity helps us more than others. The joy of giving is precious and it gives peace to the soul. Remember, the small random acts of kindness will give you joy, happiness and peace. Greed steals life but generosity leads to joy.
Look at opportunities to bless others. Always be a generous giver and be a blessing to others – a small act of generosity by you, can lead to a happy moment for a weary and tired person.
I would like to share a story of a woman who came for counselling for depression and the question poised to her was “what was she good at? She answered cooking. She was then advised to volunteer to cook a delicious meal for an orphanage and then come back for the next counselling session after a week. She never came back. After months when the counsellor asked her what happened, she said that she was so happy cooking for the orphan kids that she did not have time to feel depressed. It gave her immense joy and now she regularly volunteers for cooking.
It is very simple – when you move away from being self-centered and selfish, then you will enjoy the joys of leading a stress free life.Always remember a peaceful heart leads to a healthy body.
Please read our other article How to build confidence and live without Fear.
