In “Stressed Out! Part 1”, we talked about the effects of unhealthy stress in your life. If you haven’t read it yet, or need a review, you may want to take a minute to do so. You may find it here:
Go ahead, I’ll wait….
Finished? Great!
Today let’s begin talking about some things you can do to manage your stress levels, lower dangerous Cortisol levels and enjoy a more fulfilling life. I will break these down over the next three blogs for a few reasons:
● Learning is usually more effective over time. By breaking the blog into multiple parts, it has a greater chance of impacting your life positively.
● By segmenting the blogs, you can choose a few of the techniques to work on each day instead of trying to incorporate all or most of them quickly. This is a better, more effective, and longer lasting approach.
● Shorter blogs are more likely to be read – there, I said it! (And I feel better 😉 )
Okay, so with all that in mind, here are a few things you can consider today to manage your stress better, lower Cortisol levels and better enjoy life:
MEDITATE
Meditation benefits your heart, helps manages diabetes and helps you reduce weight to name a few.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 NASB)
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success.” (Joshua 1:8 NASB)
SLEEP
Getting enough rest benefits us in many ways including stress reduction. It helps us be more creative, reduce inflammation (a literal killer,) helps us live longer, increases memory and attention, Helps us lose weight, and lowers incidences of depression.
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8 ESV)
LAUGH
Laughing has been associated with pain reduction and an overall sense of well-being. Go ahead laugh a little. ROFL…
“We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.” (Psalm 126:2 NLT)
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22 NIV)
EXERCISE
Everywhere you turn you hear that exercise is good for you. They are right. Just do it!
“A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might…” (Proverbs 24:5 ESV)
“She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.” (Proverbs 31:7 ESV)
Work on these for a few days and I will be back with a few more.
U R Blessed
Rodney