Stress requires little or no introduction as at one point or other, we all have felt stressed. The causes of stress are woven into the fabric of society, from simple activities, like catching the bus to more complicated ones like the hatred of one’s work. Living a stress-free life has become sort of a luxury.
The statistics on stress aren’t shocking. According to the American Psychological Association, America is facing its biggest mental health challenges. The entire population came out of the Covid era, pretty shaken up. And this is a common theme all around the world.
However, that stress is common in our lives; doesn’t mean it has to be the norm. We mustn’t yield to stress.
And so, the question is “can we all live a stress-free life?”, Yes, we can; yes, it is possible to live a life with a sound mind. In this article, we shall be looking at how we can achieve this.
Common Reasons For Stress
Stress is our body responding to anything that requires our action or attention. According to the World Health Organization, stress is a physical, emotional, and psychological strain. A little bit of stress is required for people to function well in society.
However, it is our individual reaction to stress that determines whether we are healthy or not. As stated earlier, stress is our body informing us we have to attend to or deal with an issue. Some react to this by being afraid, anxious, and worried. In extreme cases, there will be difficulty in breathing and disturbed sleeping patterns among others.
Stress as it were, can therefore be triggered by just about anything. I stated earlier that our day-to-day activity is fully packed with triggers. You wake up late and have only 10 minutes to get to work, with the possibility of missing the bus. You become stressed. You have a project deadline, your boss on your neck, and worse still, you have not begun working on the project. Your laptop suddenly develops an issue and has refused to turn on.
On a good day, you get to deal with maybe just one issue. Some days, everything seems to be going to hell at the same time. This is the dance of most people, a pillar-to-post movement from one issue to the other. From relationships to the most mundane activities like taking out the garbage late every time, stress can be triggered.
It is easy to assume that if you had all the money in this world, and were super wealthy, you would finally get to live a stressful life. Unfortunately, you will be disappointed. The story is told of a young and wealthy man, Markus Person creator of Minecraft, plagued with stress because his lover left him for a man of average means.
Ironically, the American Psychology Association reports that more than seventy percent of Americans report having had money-related stress.
Money, both in abundance and when scarce, is one of the biggest sources of stress. Having billions, and a 23000 square feet mansion in Beverly hills, with lots of free time doesn’t shield you from stress.
Money, in whatever quantity doesn’t exalt anybody above all he has to attend to in life. Hence nobody is above being stressed.
The reality indeed is that people have different sets of problems in their lives, some are related to money, some are related to relationships, some are related to work, etc.
However, there is one thing we all have in common, one thing we never give thought to, and that is life in itself is a cycle of challenges. This is something I call the “Problem Loop”.
Problem Loop
Life is a problem loop. You solve one problem to face another problem. This cycle is never-ending. While I was working in a company in 2014, I was very stressed when I had to meet the boss of my boss. To me, he was an asshole. My boss was cool. But, his boss had a problem with the way he handled his relationship with me.
I remember vividly, that this particular individual had more problems with me than with any other person working under him, directly or indirectly. It was so bad that if I saw him coming my way, I immediately changed route, and this continued happening for 3 years.
Fortunately, I got to change my job. My new job came with great relationships with the higher-ups. They liked me as much as I liked them too. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really happy about my salary, to put it casually. Well, I soon got yet another job that came with a great boss and an awesome salary, but the work culture was poor!
This typifies the problem loop, the never-ending illusion of happiness and a stress-free life propelled by the pursuit of everything external. However, nothing outside of a man can really help him be happy, consistently. There is no conditioner situation without its hiccups. Pursuing money, a new relationship, a new location, etc with the hope of attaining stress-free life locks you up in a problem loop.
Your Happiness Is With You
Within you lies all you need to beat stress. Being happy twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout the year is not possible. However, you can live a balanced life. You can take on the good days and the bad days with a firm decision not to give in to overwhelming stress. You can do this because, the truth is, your happiness is in your hands.
The book The At Of Happiness by Dalai Lamal the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet emphasizes this principle. Together with Dr. Howard Cutler, his holiness teaches that happiness is personal and that accepting this truth sets us apart to truly face the “problem loop” of life.
Personally, I have discovered one such way to always look inside whenever I feel stressed. Often when I am sad; I simply remember times when I was very happy, and tap into those moments. Sure enough, my mood changes for the better. I am often lost in these short memories.
So, when next you feel stressed and unhappy, simply try to conjure up wonderful memories in your mind. Think of your children and how much they love you, remember the childhood images of your children. Imagine when they called you "DAD" or "MOM", how happy you became. Always remember, your children love you as much as you love them.
Personally, I have found that my daughter cares for me rather deeply, and as weird as it may sound, more than I love her. I am also sometimes astounded by the amazing things she says. The thought of her brings me a great deal of happiness. Memories of children are always a great place to suck in a lot of positivity when you feel stressed.
You can also start reading books when you feel stressed. This is also one of the best hacks to get rid of stress or prevent it to come.
You will also like to read; Reading List: Greatest Self Development Books
Conclusion
We all can live stress-free. It is all within us to decide our moods daily.
Mostly, negative stress is developed for and by things that are not directly in our control. You can't do anything here but relax.
So, next time when you feel tense and want the immediate kick to get out of it, just follow the guidelines above and you will feel happy.