April 6th, 2021
April is stress awareness month! This may be a little bit of a review of the March 9th blog, but I promise to add new information as well.
Stress, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is constraining force or influence, also strain or pressure. Well that sound about right! According to The American Institute of Stress, (no, I’m not making that up as it actually exists!) we owe credit for the current use of the word to Hans Selve, defined as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change.” That is a fairly broad definition! According to this “standard,” I guess we all handle stress well overall. Every day we experience the demand for change, most of us probably experience a demand for change several times a day. We commonly refer to this as being flexible and if you are not Type-A personality this may be easy for you to cope with while it could be a struggle for others, like myself.
As we go through life, only one thing is for certain and that is change. The seasons change, day turns into night and vice versa, people grow older, etc. Because life is full of change, we must learn to adapt or deal with the change/stress that will most certainly be thrown our way. This is when we must learn to pick our battles wisely and recognize that all change is not bad. Those of you that know me in real life are most likely laughing right now and saying remember to practice what you are teaching. I will admit I am a work in progress and am often reminded that change is not as devastating as I may initially think. I am always striving to become a better version of the person I was yesterday; it’s called growth and ultimately it is change. This is a change for the better.
Think of it this way, babies are expected to change. We can’t wait for them to say their first word, to crawl, to take their first step, for them to begin eating new food and the list goes on and on. Why is change expected and acceptable for them but not us? I know I just stepped on some toes because that hit me too! It is all about mindset and perspective. Do you regularly look at situations from several viewpoints before reacting/responding?
I recently took a webinar on mindset. This presenter asked us to take a quiz to figure out where we are in our mindset journey. I was a little shocked to realize that I was in the category of being able to be a mindset coach as I believe I have more work to do in this area. I realized that it comes more naturally for me to help others change their mindset/perspective than it is for me to apply those principles to my own life. I challenge you to work on your mindset (mental attitude) this week alongside me and take note of how it influences those around you.
I am so glad you tuned in this week for my blog! Do you have a friend or family member that could benefit from this blog? Tell them to subscribe!
Have a blessed week ~ Lacey