Grateful for Stress???

I had a weird thought today. I was recently lamenting about the amount of demands I face this summer and today I was thinking Thank God I have the strength to deal with it all. Am I grateful for stress then? Not so much, but at least it makes me stop and say Wow, I am a pretty strong person.......

How do I personally deal with it? For one thing, I prioritize my life. There are things I would like to get done and they don't. Those are the things that can wait. I can wait another month or season to paint the porch. People who need me, however, can't wait. So, I rearrange my plans.

Another thing I do is take care of myself. As much as possible I make sure I am sleeping and eating right. I also make time for fun. If I have a social event planned like a craft club, I will try my best to keep the date. I know friends and laughter are the best medicine for me. Some people require solitude, not me. I require venting and sarcasm and silliness.

Without going into my personal challenges here, I will also recommend professional counsel. Even if it is someone else who has the problem, I tend to internalize quite a bit. In other words, I am a worrier. One example is my grand-daughter is going into second grade and she isn't a reader! That worries me. Maybe she will be a late bloomer, but I can't relax and let nature take its course. I have to be proactive about it so I worked all summer to pay for her reading lessons instead of taking it easy like I was planning. If I am willing to work this hard for reading lessons, imagine how worked up I could get over something like a family illness. So, I have a very capable counselor who affirms my thoughts and insights and makes me feel like I am indeed making a difference.

Although there are a few times it gets the better of me, I would say overall I deal effectively and that is something to be grateful for in and of itself.

A quote for the occasion? "If it doesn't hurt, you aren't growing." OUCH!

Gratitude

First bit of advice from Momma is this, no matter what you are facing, have an attitude of gratitude. That sounds corny to some and downright impossible to others right now who are in the midst of stormy weather. It is easy to feel grateful when things are going your way. You just got a raise, you got an A, you bought a car, etc...now you feel like you are in control of your destiny.

But what about when you or someone you love is ill, or you lose your home, or you get fired? What is there to be grateful for then? That is for you to decide, not me, but there probably is something. If you can turn your focus, even for a moment onto the things you are grateful for in your life right now, it will do a lot for your perspective.

If you still have your health, the kids are all home and safe and your spouse just walked in the door from work what could be so bad? I know, I just described the perfect happy family and you may not have that, but you get the picture. Look around you, at your life, and see the things that are going right and appreciate them.

Dwell on the positives as much as feasible. What will that do for you? It will lower your blood pressure, keep you out of the cookie jar and keep you from ignoring the people and things in your life that are worthy of attention. Sometimes, when we have a lot on our plates we focus on the problem and lose our grip on other parts of our lives. If you are out of work it definitely is a huge problem right now, but besides working hard at getting a job, also work hard at enjoying everything that is going well for you.

Your attitude is key to anything in life. How you feel about your situation radiates outward and effects your friends, family, coworkers and either brings them down or boosts them up. You attract what you project too. Project joy, happiness, good fortune, enthusiasm, acceptance, etc...and that is what you will attract.

Remember Momma Always Said say your prayers and count your blessings? Here is the prayer I said growing up,
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
If I should die before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
God Bless Mom and Dad and Grandma and sisters and pets and friends etc...
After my prayer I would bless a litany of things and with each God bless I was counting my blessings and reminding myself of all the good things in my life. Maybe before we go to sleep each night we should do that again, stop and take stock of all the things we are grateful for.........I think it would work better than Ambien.

God Bless You