How To Prevent The Ageing Effects Of Stress...

Experiencing high levels of stress can make you age prematurely.

You probably know at least a few individuals who have experienced what they imagine to be highly stressful events – maybe a divorce, the loss of a loved one, a reduction in income, debt or the discovery of a serious health issue – that has accelerated their ageing processes quite rapidly.

“I remember a young man who found out that his mother had metastatic cancer. Within a few weeks he began growing a patch of white hair. It was quite amazing how quickly he went grey. I watched a 20-year-old girl find out she was pregnant, without knowing who the father was, and saw how she felt the pressure of the social and financial implications.”

There are a few sensible actions you can take to cope.

Coping with stress

So what can you do if you find yourself experiencing circumstances that feel emotionally distressing?

• Having a close friend or a professional to communicate with would be ideal.
• Meditation and stilling your mind to enable your inner solutions to arise can also assist. Exercising to channel off some extra tension will maybe assist temporarily.
• Making sure you eat quality, nutritious food during such times is certainly wise.

Also, ask yourself how your perceived stressful situation could serve or benefit you now and in the future?

To perceive only the negative side of the emotional equation and not even attempt to search for the accompanying positive side can further exacerbate the stress and keep you forever bound to the source of your stress.

Balance your perceptions

Balancing the equation can help dissolve this concentrated stress.

A balanced mind – seeing both the positive and negative side of things – offers the solution.

Ask yourself what the drawbacks would be if this emotionally stressful event had not occurred?

Sometimes we assume that our life would have been much
better if things would have turned out differently.

Sometimes people compare their present realities to falsely optimistic fantasies.

“Having unrealistic expectations about the world or yourself can add to your stress perceptions when life doesn’t match your ideal fantasy. Be sure your life expectations are balanced and realistic. Life offers a balance. One-sided events don’t occur.”

Since many stressful situations involve personal interactions with others, it’s wise to ask where and when you have participated in such an interaction with someone else who perceived you as being the source of their stress.

This question can humble you and make you think twice about unwisely judging others, since a lot of stress involves exaggerated judgments about others. Self-reflection is wise and honest introspection often reveals humbling histories. When you become reflective your expectations often become more realistic.

If someone is criticising or rejecting you, ask yourself where someone is simultaneously praising or accepting you, although maybe not within the same location.

This takes deep introspection, but it is worth it.

A great discovery is revealed when you take the time to honestly probe the initially unseen world that balances every event.

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A Quality Life Demands Quality Questions!

The quality of your life is based partly upon the quality of the questions you ask yourself daily. If you are not inspired about your life or if you are not living the life you truly dream of, it may depend on the type of questions you ask yourself. The moment you do is the moment your life begins to change.

Most people who struggle through life ask themselves such uninspiring questions that their lives become exactly that, uninspiring.

Asking low-quality questions leads to a low quality life.

“To ask yourself high quality questions is one of the keys to living the more self-actualized life you dream of and deserve.”

Seven high quality questions you could ask yourself daily

I have asked myself these seven questions for many years. I am able to fulfill many of my dreams through this method, and so have many of my friends and students using the same questions.

These questions demonstrate that the quality of people’s lives around the world increases. Let’s take a look at these seven high quality questions.

1. What would I absolutely love to do in life? 

   This question helps bring clearly into your conscious mind one of your heartfelt and meaningful dreams or objectives.

2. How do I become handsomely or beautifully paid to do it?

   This question helps you awaken your creativity and helps you reward yourself in return. It helps make your vocation your avocation. Why not get financially rewarded for doing whatever you love?

3. What are the seven highest priority actions steps I could complete today that would enable me to do it?

   This question helps you see how possible it is to accomplish this or any other meaningful dream or objective. It helps you organize your actions.

4. What obstacles might I run into and how do I solve them in advance?

   This question helps you plan more effectively and prepares you for the challenges you might face in advance. It enables you to act more than react along your journey.

5. What worked and what didn’t work today?

   This question helps you refine your actions and keep them on priority. All great endeavors require such feedback.

6. How do I do what I would love more effectively and efficiently?

   This question helps you consistently think of more effective and efficient ways of accomplishing your meaningful dream or objective.

7. How did whatever I experienced today – whether positive or negative, serve me?

   This question helps you realize that all great endeavors come with both supportive and challenging consequences both of which act as feedback mechanisms to assist you along your accomplishment journey.

Yes, there is a bit of thinking involved in asking and answering quality questions. But with a little effort and refinement you can certainly accomplish a great number of objectives and fulfill great dreams.

Don’t you deserve to live your dreams?

Begin asking yourself the same quality questions and see what answers they lead you to. Be as specific and concise as you can. Watch how your creativity begins to soar.

The quality of your life is based partly upon the quality of the questions you ask yourself daily. Your quality of life also depends on the quality and quantity of actions you take daily. Begin to ask higher quality questions and begin to act on your dreams today.

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Increase The Probability To Achieve Your Goals

Your standards tend to climb as you achieve your goals.  But you can set goals that are misaligned with your true values and make you feel defeated! 

Have you ever achieved or completed a long sought goal and then immediately felt a surge of confidence and began setting the next new one? Probably so! It can be quite exhilarating to accomplish and achieve significant goals in life.

But, did you ever notice that for this next goal that you set out to achieve, you probably raised the bar on it and made sure it was a bit more challenging. Our expectations and standards tend to climb as our goals become accomplished.

Some philosophers have even claimed that nothing of our senses tend to satisfy our soul. Our soul just keeps striving upward and onward possibly even toward what some have termed as the ‘infinite’.

Goals have a way of climbing in height

Goals have a way of climbing in height from those that are more easily reachable and almost immediately attainable to those that take either more effort and / or greater time. In most cases it has been shown that as our ability to attain our goals grows so does our confidence. In some cases we can even begin setting goals that are unachievable.

“How high can you climb you might ask yourself?”

That is a great question, for some have achieved some seemingly unbelievable feats. Often their sheer determination and patient perseverance have seen them through to their desired outcomes.

Misaligned goals cause disappointment

But, is there a part of us that can set goals that are unreal, misaligned with our true higher values and therefore unattainable. As a result we set ourselves up for an internal moral dilemma, the big let down, a crash or a feeling of defeat and burnout. This can and has certainly happened to some.

It is like in the sport of gambling for some people. If they win they probably bet again and often a little or lot more goes into the pot. But the odds are not really in the favor of the gambler. So the emotional high from their wins can become the very source of their lows the moment they lose.

Most people can handle approximately 10% fluctuations in their emotions without too much reaction. This means if they gain or lose 10% of their money they can handle this predicament without being too elated or distraught. But when those percentages climb higher so do their emotional reactions.

Set reasonable, moderate and realistic goals as you make your climb

So when your setting your goals, which I am assuming you already know are very powerful and useful in living a more fulfilling life, set them with reason and graduate them moderately and realistically as you make your climb. Make sure they are realizable and set on stable and steady ground, for the higher your expectation the greater your let down can become.

This is not to say that great expectations are not healthy. They can be. But they must be backed up with firm planning and methodical actions.

Goal planning worksheet

To assure that you have set reasonable goals, work through a goal planning worksheet to make sure that what goal you have set is truly achievable in the time frame that you have set it in. Work through any possible obstacles that might arise.

Guidance or mentorship from someone who has already been there or done that can be immensely helpful.

The more details that you plan the less likely you are to fail and the more you are able and likely to achieve.

A master of achievement is one who plans and focuses on ever-finer detail. If you can see your desired outcome in your mind in perfect detail before you begin your actions the more likely you are to achieve it.

It is wiser to climb one step at a time than to attempt to leap across huge gorges. By the inch, it’s a cinch. The seemingly unattainable can become attainable if you see it clearly, plan it methodically and simply stick with it!

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