Life is full of events that present multitudes of opportunities to become stressed; be it family issues, career issues, health issues, money issues, etc. Although no one would be faulted for feeling the stress associated with these elements of living, I would encourage you to find alternatives to subjecting yourself to that pressure. Below are some steps that can be taken to help move through the strains and pains associated with stress and with practice convert it into something better.

First, commit to yourself that you will not worry. No matter what the situation. You have to be willing to surrender all in order to take yourself to the next level. Think about this. If you lost any material thing; ultimately what harm has come from it? It once was yours. You enjoyed it. Great memories, feelings of accomplishment, pride in ownership, etc. The thing is that it all can be replaced. It may take a little time and effort but you can get it back. Plus, it will be even better when you have it again because of what you learned from past experience. Granted immaterial issues such as relationships struggles or concern over loved ones, hazardous health concerns and so on are not the same. However, the desired outcome to free you from the anxiety stemming from those problems is the same. Worrying takes a huge toll. The price paid for worrying especially extensive or consistent worry is permanent and you don’t get it back. That price in its mental and emotional state is joy and happiness. In its physical state your body pays ultimately by aging too rapidly. And as something that can be measured, you pay in time. In other words, you were without joy and happiness for a period of time that you can never get back and the stress has caused additional years, not even lived yet, to be taken from your life as well as your physical health being adversely affected. In the few precious years we’ve been given to live this awesome life on this big beautiful floating ball, we should never waste them on things that cause us to lose our joy, become unhealthy or lessen our life span.

The second step would be to believe in yourself and whatever your higher power, (mine is God), that everything is going to work out just fine. Belief in that outcome will resonate that result. No one knows you better than you. Where you have a role and ability to make things happen, you need to trust in yourself that you can. Although I absolutely believe in you and your “success” ability, you have to believe that you can do it as well. Know that you will take whatever steps are necessary on your part to achieve what you want. Be a deliberate thinker. Be an intentional thinker. Expect and know that not only do you have that in you but that you will make it happen.

The third item is that action item. Obviously, that means doing the work. Committing time, effort and energy to ensuring your outcome will be achieved. You also have to be diligent and persistent. Don’t give up on yourself or what your goal is. Sacrifices sometimes are necessary but worth it in the majority of cases. Doing so helps you to achieve your goal. Of course you need to determine what that goal is first. Typically it turns out to be a top priority in life for you. But from there every day you must take some type of action that will bring you closer to that end result. Focus on your end result or goal. And truthfully when your goal is your top priority, making some sacrifices and committing to taking action is actually much easier than you would think. It may even become second nature. Before you know it the issue causing the stress is gone and you have resolved the problem. Not to mention that by getting to this point, you have ultimately achieved personal growth that has moved you much further beyond the place where you initially started.

Life is full of challenges. It sometimes seems that no matter how hard we try, there is always a roadblock in front of us at some point. I challenge you to look at the roadblock as an opportunity for growth and achievement of success. Truly if we had no challenges, what would we learn in all of our years? What would be the point of our time on this rock? How could we become better, wiser and teach others? The greatest thing about practicing and following these steps is that they form a cycle. One step leads right into the other and after time it become a natural behavior; one that ultimately changes worry to no problem. It helps maintain a state of constant joy and happiness and allows opportunity for a longer healthier life. And getting to that place to me means success.