Don’t stress. Do your very best. Appreciate each step. Forget the rest.
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Don’t Hesitate to Do These 8 Hard Things for Your Mental Health
Photo by: Kerry M (Stocksy)
Practical Tips for Productive Living
Don’t stress. Do your very best. Appreciate each step. Forget the rest.
This post has moved to here:
Photo by: Kerry M (Stocksy)
Susan says
Lovely! Thank you.
Jeff Ray says
Like susan said… Thanks.
Fay D. says
Inspiring read as always.
Mathias says
I think the most important one of these is tracking what’s going well in your life. As a species, we’re predisposed to always focus on the negative things (as this helped us deal with threats and survive in the past), so it’s important to balance this out by consciously focusing on the positive aspects of your life.
A trick I use to reduce stress is to embrace discomfort and anxiety as signs that I’m headed in the right direction – if you’re too comfortable, you’re not pushing your limits!
muyiwa says
HELPFUL POST! THANK YOU.
Angelo Limon says
Hi Marc,
This post was awesome! I relate to these tips & I am working on them myself. (#3, 4, 6, 7, 8)
Number 6 is the most powerful one to me, because I believe in the law of attraction. The way we think is important. I wrote a post yesterday about 3 ways people who understand the law of attraction think differently! Mastering a new way of thinking is “the thing”!
“You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be.” powerful quote!
Thanks again.
Regards.
Angelo Limon
Ruben G. says
As I read this post, I felt my body responding to your recommendations. It was soothing, comforting and relaxing to my mind and body. I felt the stress melting away. I will print this document and read it everyday as a reminder of things to do that will prolong my health.
Thank you! Keep up the great work!
Anjali Sharma says
Nice tips here. This is very good perspective for this era. Today everyone is busy & living at so many hours rushing around in stress. Thanks.
Dave says
I’ve been a big funk lately. Was laid off my job after ten years. Was lucky to find another quick, but its not working out. I have since quit working out and buying smokes…ugh.
I cant get out of this drowning feeling. Thanks for this article, but it did not get me completely out of it, yet. I feel i just don’t have the energy right now. Hopefully this ends soon.
David Rapp says
I know a lot of my work stress comes from two places: the clock and the calendar. All my work centers around commanding both, and making sure others adhere to a schedule. So, in my case, the time it takes to get something done is just as important as the end result. A cake does not bake 3 times faster at 1000 degrees F.
But I am now totally burned out and in need of some serious time off. 4 days vacation last year was not nearly enough. Any stress feels doubled right now.
Bob H. says
I appreciate you helpful insights and ideas on how to control stress. I have suffered through stress and anxiety problems for the last twenty- five years with only varying levels of success. Depression has also been frequently added to the mix. Your writings have been more helpful than many of the alternatives I have tried, mostly medication. They tend to leave me feeling better without dealing with my issues. When they wear off I am right back where I started. Medication is not the way to go if you can help it. Thanks for giving me another way of looking at things.
Cody says
Love this. Letting go of what cannot be controlled is super important, but is often difficult for me. For some reason being out of control is one of the most frustrating situations I encounter. Thanks for the reminder. I may link to this in an upcoming article.
Jeanette says
Each and every point is extremely value added. I particularly need to consider a walk or jog outside as restorative and NOT unproductive, since that is what I’ve generally felt in the past. Without those opportunities, we completely deplete ourselves.
Thanks so much!
Sandy Peckinpah says
Thank you for this post… #1 Be in the moment: I am aware that I am constantly multi-tasking. I am teaching myself to turn off external interruptions like email and social network alerts. It really interupts my writing and I don’t always get back on track.
#6 Purge untrue thoughts. For the longest time, after my son died, I thought I was broken. What happened the day I stopped believing I was broken? Everything. I became committed to my transformation by seeking guidance, the right information, stillness practices, and the intense desire to allow happiness in my life again. Grief isn’t a life sentence, it’s an experience of intense love for the one who is gone. It’s a broken heart, not a broken mind. I know that now. So much of my healing and awareness has taken place because I include your blog as part of my spiritual practice. Thank you.
Marc Chernoff says
@Mathias and Fay D.: I couldn’t agree more with your stress reduction tips. Well stated!
@Dave: The key to making progress when you’re in a funk is to focus on TODAY only – just the present steps you need to take. Because no matter what’s happening, anyone can efficiently fight the battles of just one day. It’s only when you add the battles of those two abysmal eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that life gets overwhelmingly complicated. Realize that it’s not the experience of today that holds you back and drives you crazy, but the regret and resentment about something that happened yesterday or the fear and dread of what tomorrow might bring. It’s necessary, therefore, to let yourself live just one day at a time – just today – just right here, right now.
@David Rapp: No doubt about it… rest is an important aspect of being effective in all walks of life. You must dedicate time to refilling your bucket on a regular basis. That means catching up on sleep, making time for laughter and fun, eating healthy enough to maintain solid energy levels, and otherwise making time for recovery from the chaos of your routine.
@Bob H.: Glad I could provide some positive perspective.
@Sandy Peckinpah: You are an inspiration to Angel and me. Over this past year, you have inspired us with your stories and thoughts about overcoming loss and growing from it. As you know, we have lost some dear family members as well, so we can directly relate to your journey. Keep on keeping on! 🙂
@All: Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights with us. Your words truly move us. And to the few who have emailed us about #6, yes these questions are a derivative of research by Byron Katie
. We’ve shared and recommended her books on our blog countless times over the years, but I did forget to mention her above.
Charles says
If only we could all remember #8 … Geez, what a wonderful world this would be.
Rose Costas says
Most of us are stressed because we refuse to say no or to admit that we cannot do something. Women tend to feel guilty when they say no and as we know that is why we are more stressed. We have to understand that when we say no it is because we do not have enough hours in our day. Thanks for the great advice.
Lorrie Jones says
My friends: this post is nothing short of a blessing. As I prepare for 2 months of work in Mexico, I have felt overwhelmed at times. Your wonderful article has helped me remember how to bring serenity and calm into my last two days before departure. Thank you!
Katherine Swarts says
Stress as a primary cause of health problems; rushing through the current task so you can move on to the next waiting for you; perfectionistic fantasies as a way of feeling in control and the fear then generated by feeling obligated to translate them into reality. … have you been reading my journal? We do “compare our behind-the-scenes circumstances with everyone else’s public highlight reel” (#7) and assume that everyone else has it all together.
#8’s “causal explanation” is a new concept to me; I’ve heard of the “gratitude journal” many times, but not the idea of writing down an event’s *causes*. What exactly does that look like (any examples?) and how does it improve the effectiveness beyond writing down the “blessing” by itself?
If I were asked to add a point 10, I’d say it should be: Learn to wait for results. I’m not sure I’ve made a major advancement primarily by the “keep trying until it catches” method since I learned to bicycle some 35+ years ago; my tendency is always to think that if I don’t see quick and obvious progress and/or have a step-by-step system with guaranteed cause-and-effect, whatever I’m trying to do must be a waste of time. (How often have I tried to copy exactly someone else’s “how I doubled my business in two months” approach–and I’m talking about accounts from legitimate achievers, not the anonymous inflated claims in junk-mail ads–for two weeks without seeing even ONE new client surface, and given up with an “I’m hopeless” moan?)
Kat Matina says
Great reminder of small things which practiced regularly can make a huge difference.
My personal favourites are rather simple: daily 10 min meditation, sports and sleep.
Meditation was a huge discovery couple of years ago and really helps to eliminate all these useless mental chatter going on in my head when I’m stressed. If for some reason I don’t meditate for 2-3 days, I start to physically feel the anxiety and stress kicking in.
Also if some kind of mental talk drains me and does not let to concentrate I just ask myself “Is what you think useful for you? and Do you really want to continue to this useless conversation? ” After doing it couple of times, the annoying yada-yada usually disappears at least for some time and let me focus on what’s really important.
Dipen says
Thank you so much for this helpful article. Whenever I am in stress and in need of boost, I receive your email, and I get exactly what I am looking for. Your emails are really helpful and wonderful. The contents of the articles are amazing, dear Marc and Angel you are doing really amazing job, thank you so much.
Celeste says
I always feel like God talks to me thru ur blog. I was going thru something and u posted about toxic relationship behavior. Now ive been struggling with negativity and worrying and here is this post. Thanks for inspiring me to smile, hug my beautiful kids and be grateful!
jithu says
You are my best teacher, Marc. You have taught me to how to be positive and happy, always. Thank you sooo much.
Anne Ricci says
Hi Marc,
I remember that when I had my corporate job my bosses always told me I had a awesome capacity to cope with stress. And sure enough, they were pouring lots of their own stress on my desk every morning!
I never really analyzed it, but when I read your article, it hits me: I realize that “1. Be in the moment, completely, with just one task” is really my #1 method to cope with stress. I didn’t quite get why my boss was always stressed by the pressure from shareholders or the length of the to-do-list, because his stress wasn’t adding anything constructive to the situation.
I was in the moment, working on my task as if it was the only one of the day. Then, I worked on the next one, and the next one, as if time had this elasticity quantum physicists talk about. Sure, it was always a rush and lots of work all day long, but being in the moment kind of kept stress out of the equation for me.
Thanks for this great article!
Anne
Pete says
Nice post!
Marc Chernoff says
Thanks everyone! Really appreciate the kind remarks.
And some excellent additions to the list too. I especially loved your thoughts, Katherine Swarts and Anne Ricci. 🙂
Selenga says
Thank you for all the tips. They are very efficient.
I complete tip #6 with the following question I find useful: “What could make someone who loves me and is sensible do this?”.
Kind regards.
Isaac Mnune says
I hate stress and I want to say thanks for all good advice and motivations.
Bill says
This is all very useful to remember. Appreciate all your blueprints for clear-headed thinking.
Annie says
Managing stress is something I have to constantly focus on – particularly the importance of a good nights sleep.. thanks for the great post and reminders!