Are you totally stressed out? Or just a teeny bit stressed?
Why is that?
Is it possible to live with no negative stress at all? Would you want to?

I challenge you to think about the answers to these questions.

photo credit: bandita

I’ve seen several studies and a lot of research showing the correlation between high stress levels and health problems. It’s obvious that this thing we call stress is hazardous to our health, wealth, and our general well-being in life.

What is “stress”? We hear people complaining about it all the time, but what is it really? I’m referring to job and emotional stress affecting people (not the force exhibited on objects in physics experiments and not the accent on a syllable or musical note).

There are two types of stress. Distress (negative stress) and Eustress (positive stress). Eustress will be the topic of another post. For now, when I mention “stress” we are talking about distress.

I looked up “stress” on dictionary.com:

a specific response by the body to a stimulus, as fear or pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium of an organism.

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photo credit: teadrinker

We could all use a reality check from time to time. This is healthy on a daily basis. Just today I got caught up in thinking about all the things I have to do and all my problems. I could use a reminder that compared to most problems of the world, my problems are minuscule.

If you are reading this, then we both have a lot to be thankful for. We have been provided with luxuries and wealth far beyond the dreams of most people living just a few generations ago, and even beyond the dreams of many people living in the world today.

Living in the USA is wonderful. We have our problems. Still, we live in one of the best countries in the world. For people reading this in other countries, you need a computer and Internet access to read this. Only 20% of the world’s population has access to the Internet, so you are already in the top 20%. A quarter of the world’s population lives without electricity. Imagine that! (more…)

Do you like video games?

I pretend not to. I usually don’t, contrary to what you may think after reading this story.

What was the most valuable thing that you learned playing video games?

I generally avoid video games when I can. But just last week I learned something surprising playing a game on my computer. And this isn’t any silliness about video games increasing my IQ.

First, let me get this out of the way. I have a confession to make about a previously closely held secret. Make sure nobody is reading over your shoulder. I wouldn’t want this to get out. (more…)

I called a friend of mine on a Tuesday last month to invite him to lunch on the following Thursday. He said that he couldn’t do anything on Thursday because he was going skiing with his college age son. He explained that his son had never been skiing before, and he would be taking lessons. He added, “If you want to be Mr. Spontaneous, you’re welcome to come skiing with us.”

It just so happened that I had never skied before, and I had been hoping for an opportunity to go this year. I had already given up on the idea of skiing this season — after all, it was already late March.

This invitation is something that I would not have acted upon in the past. Looking back, I have been too serious, too “all business” to take the time out to do something like this. Especially on such short notice! Lately, I have been realizing that I need to make time to truly live. It is these experiences of life that matter the most, the memories that are created, and the opportunities we have to bond with other people. I jumped on it.

On Thursday, we drove a couple hours up to Pat’s Peak in Henniker, New Hampshire. We got up there at about 10AM, took lessons for a little over an hour, and skied all day until 5pm. I had a wonderful day, and I also had a startling revelation.

At first, I was so scared of (more…)

There are many books that I have read that have impacted my life positively in one way or another. I’m always reading something and telling people about it. I have my “top 10″ book list on my website, but this really is pathetically incomplete.

There is one book that is not on my book list that really should be on there. Reading this book will raise your self esteem. This book will convince you that you can’t help but succeed at whatever you decide to do. It is impossible to fail. This book will install productive habits and positive programming into you through repeated affirmations. It will teach you to be positive and self-confident. On top of this, the book is only about 100 pages long! Such a small book, but such a big promise.

The book is (more…)

I have been focusing on filling my mind with only positive things and keeping the negative things out. I have read many books about this. Being an avid student of NLP has also helped me recognize negative communication and negative influences, and I just avoid these things or ignore them as much as possible. As a result, I have taught myself how to be positive the large majority of the time. It wasn’t an overnight process, it did take work and time.

I have been avoiding TV, newspapers, and the media for years! Many people think that I am crazy for admitting this. I have good reasons for this though, and I know that doing this has made a huge positive impact on the quality of my life.

I would estimate that 90% or more of (more…)

I figured I would put a copy of this article up on my blog for all of you to read. This is an article I wrote on Goal Setting just before the new year (2008). I sent it out as an email to a bunch of people I know, and this was also published in a local Real Estate publication. Since its publication, I have received several emails and calls with praise for the article and how it has helped people look at the year ahead. I hope it will help you too!

— begin article —

Many of you know that I have been (more…)