I have blogged quite a bit over time on how to deal with stress.
In my opinion this stress occurs when the reward to too disconnected from the activity. Sometimes this can be a time disconnect. EG - the vegetable harvest or the dinner is weeks away. Sometimes it can be because the outcome is not assured. EG - write an article but it may not get read and even then will it result in opportunities.
I know we choose our reaction to outside happenings so no one or nothing can cause stress if we do not choose to let it.
The same needs to be true of these internal stresses. Being stressed detracts from enjoyment and does not add to performance. Now to be zen...
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Adding to my stress is too much travel but some of what I have been doing really reduces the stress level. Last weekend, I hiked the Grand Canyon. Nothing comes close to the awe one feels in the Grand Canyon. And adding the challenge of a bit of a hike (7.5 miles down and 7.5 miles back with one vertical mile each way)... it was all good.
9 hours of hiking (including breaks) and temperatures over 100 F near the bottom.
ReplyDelete"I figure out what I can control. Stress for me is caused by situations that are out of my control. Even if this is the case, there is always something that I can do that is within my control. For example, I cannot control currency fluctuations but I can take actions that cause them to have less financial impact on me."
There is definitely some Buddhist theory embedded within this sentence. I meditated every day for three years and really explored the mind. I found -- with direction of "masters" -- that experience is not inherently charged positively or negatively. For example, the experience of anxiety is not inherently "bad" -- it is how he react to it that causes suffering.
Stress arises --> your mind recognizes the feeling --> wants to get rid of it --> RESISTANCE
It is resistance that is the ultimate cause of suffering. If we can identify experience as they arise, categorize the experience, and allow it to "just happen" then happiness arises. Though this is INCREDIBLY hard to exercise.