Is being overly stressed an inevitable condition in modern life, or is it a choice? Many people feel trapped in their stressful lives, and at best eke out a little time occasionally for de-stressing.
Perhaps they escape temporarily from the stressed state with alcohol, drugs, emotional eating or distractions such as shopping or television.
Or they may let go of some tension in a healthier way—with exercise, a soak in the hot tub, relaxing music or a meditation or breathing technique. But I ask, is this really enough?
While these healthy de-stress methods are certainly better than doing nothing at all, if you allow yourself just an occasional island of calm in a sea of harried activity and thought, you’re taking the “Band-Aid” approach to the problem.
What’s really called for is a good, long look at the life you’re living and the choices you’re making. Face it, we live in a society that feeds us constant messages that we need to have more. It’s the American way.
Being happy, we’re made to believe, is just a purchase away. All I need is that house, that car, home improvement, outfit, Botox, new gadget. Or maybe it’s not mere material goods you seek, but more education, prestige or power. Or it’s a more perfect physique or a plethora of other things outside of yourself.
And to have more, you need to work more, multitask more, network more, and cogitate more. And here you find yourself, stressed to the max and never even experiencing the fulfillment that seemed to lie in store for you if you accomplished more.
Remember the proverbial phrase, “Less is more?” I know that many people nowadays scoff at the concept, but for the sake of our health, our sanity, and even the survival of the planet itself, let’s wake up to the fact that acquiring more is not making us happy; it never has and never will.
You already possess all that you need in order to experience peace and contentment—it is within you.
See that the stressful, constant grasping after all that exists “out there” is a choice. This is your life: choose wisely.
