Are you stressed out? If so, you aren’t alone. According to a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, close to half of all American adults are feeling more stress than they did a year ago. What is causing all this stress? The people surveyed cited money, work, family responsibilities, workload and health concerns as major stressors. The lack of proper work-life balance was also reported as a significant source of stress. Most people don’t manage their stress very well, often turning to such unhealthy behaviors as overeating, drinking too much alchohol, and smoking.

My prescription for reducing stress is simple. It’s all about perspective and focus.

Feelings of stress are generated when we feel a loss of control, fear, uncertainty, or some other serious threat to our sense of wellbeing. The physical/emotional reaction we have to a stressor is that old ‘fight or flight’ response that kept our cave-dwelling ancestors alive and well. But, in today’s modern world, many of the things we perceive as life-threatening just aren’t.

Most of the circumstances (and that’s all they are - just temporary circumstances) that cause us stress are not inherently bad or good. The circumstances that we find ourselves in are neutral; they just are what they are. So, we tell ourselves a story about this being a bad situation and react accordingly. To change your reaction, change your perspective. What if you could think of rush hour traffic as a good thing? What would it change if you considered a disagreement with your co-worker as an opportunity to learn something new and build a better working relationship?

One of the things I know for sure is that whatever we focus on expands. If we focus on the negative and everything that we can’t control, we’ll get more of the same - more problems, more stress, more negativity. A great illustration of this concept is the ‘Circle of Influence’ model in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. When we focus on those things over which we have little control, we are in constant reactive mode. By turning our attention toward those things we can influence positively, we claim our power to act intentionally. Covey says, “Proactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about. The nature of their energy is positive, enlarging and magnifying, causing their Circle of Influence to increase.”

What do you do to reduce stress?