Principles in Practice Stress Management
Stress
Stress--unavoidable and undesirable? Not necessarily.
Some stress is helpful. It motivates us to do what we need to. Of course, stress tolerance varies from person to person--what incapacitates and immobilizes one person is normal, everyday pressure to another. However, when stress levels become so great that a person experiences anxiety, stress is counterproductive. It is anxiety that we want to avoid and that we can avoid, not a stress level which simply pressures us to do what we need to do. And it is possible to prevent stress from escalating beyond a reasonable level to the severe level which results in anxiety. Years ago, my stress level became unmanageable. It deteriorated into depression. Ever since God freed me of the depression, I have sought to keep my stress within bounds. That means paying attention to stress before it builds to worry, then strain, then tension, and finally anxiety. I believe there are four major issues a Christian must deal with to keep stress within bounds in his or her life: listening to God, avoiding overcommitment, confronting procrastination and properly handling finances.
Some stress is helpful. It motivates us to do what we need to. Of course, stress tolerance varies from person to person--what incapacitates and immobilizes one person is normal, everyday pressure to another. However, when stress levels become so great that a person experiences anxiety, stress is counterproductive. It is anxiety that we want to avoid and that we can avoid, not a stress level which simply pressures us to do what we need to do. And it is possible to prevent stress from escalating beyond a reasonable level to the severe level which results in anxiety. Years ago, my stress level became unmanageable. It deteriorated into depression. Ever since God freed me of the depression, I have sought to keep my stress within bounds. That means paying attention to stress before it builds to worry, then strain, then tension, and finally anxiety. I believe there are four major issues a Christian must deal with to keep stress within bounds in his or her life: listening to God, avoiding overcommitment, confronting procrastination and properly handling finances.
Listening to God
Spending time with God to hear what He has to say, as opposed to speaking to Him, is critical to knowing His will for us. We must make ourselves available and then concentrate on listening, and we must do it regularly, over the long haul. Listening to God is not the same as having a one-time conversation with someone. It is more like being enrolled in a class. When we sign up for a semester-long course, we form the habit of going to that class so many times a week. We listen to the teacher during class. We take notes. We review our notes. In short, we commit ourselves to learning the subject. When we are serious about listening to and really hearing God, we must treat the conversation as an ongoing commitment. We need to regularly make ourselves available to hear what He has to say. We need to record the insights He gives us while we are listening. Then we need to assimilate and apply those insights in our lives. The analogy to a professor and a class breaks down at a very important juncture. How many times does a teacher go chasing after a student to be sure he or she has gotten the message? Not many of mine did! But God does. Because He loves us and wants to talk with us, He often takes the trouble to continue repeating Himself whether we are trying to hear or not.
Unfortunately, too many Christians take it for granted that God is going to seek them out every time He has something to say or teach them. And when that is a way of life, He sometimes has to use other means to make Himself heard. Sometimes He uses anxiety. So the first step to avoiding anxiety is to form the habit of listening to God.
Unfortunately, too many Christians take it for granted that God is going to seek them out every time He has something to say or teach them. And when that is a way of life, He sometimes has to use other means to make Himself heard. Sometimes He uses anxiety. So the first step to avoiding anxiety is to form the habit of listening to God.
Avoiding Overcommitment
To avoid anxiety, we must deal with overcommitment. Almost everyone I know is overcommitted in some areas of their lives. Too many are overcommitted in almost every area, except the one that it is impossible to get overcommitted in--spending time with God. To effectively deal with overcommitment, we must become an expert in establishing priorities, and we must become effective in the art of saying no. Overcommitment, essentially, is the result of saying yes to the wrong things. It may be that we should never do the thing we have said yes to, or it may just be a matter of trying to do the right thing at the wrong time. Either way, the result is that we do not have time to do what we should be doing, when we should be doing it, because we are committed to doing other things. What to do? Stop. Decide what God wants you to do. Then do those things and eliminate the others. A simple prescription, but a tough job. How do you avoid overcommitment in the first place? One helpful tool is accountability. Before saying yes, check it out with someone else. This prevents impulsive decisions and adds wisdom to your decision making. If you are married, include your spouse in the process.
Confronting Procrastination
Another primary cause of unnecessary stress is procrastination. We avoid tackling a job because we do not want to do it or because we do not know how to do it--or both. Overcommitment can lead to procrastination because we put off doing what we should be doing while we are busy doing other less important things. Being overcommitted, however, may make us feel that at least we are doing something while procrastinating just makes us feel guilty. The solution to procrastination lies in the cause. It may be necessary to deal with your attitude towards the responsibility first. If you must do the job and you cannot delegate it, then dig in. Sit down and develop a plan. Break the task into small enough bites so that you are not overwhelmed. Plan to do one step at a time until you get it all done. If you do not know how to do the job, you have to develop a plan for finding out how to do it. You have basically three options: obtain an education, find someone else to do it, or decide that you will not do it. The key to confronting procrastination is to decide when you will do what, and then exercise the discipline to stick with your plan. This is an amazing stress reducer.
Managing Finances
Money seems to cause more stress and anxiety than any other area of our lives. It is such an effective tool in God's hand! And He seems to use it more often than anything else. It is both the hardest thing to control and one of the easiest. All you have to do to eliminate money-related stress and anxiety is to do what God wants you to do with what you have. If you are obedient in your spending, I will guarantee that you will always have enough. In fact, most of the time you will have more than enough. The short-range answer to money-related stress and anxiety is seldom how to get more. No, the answer is usually to be found in how to spend properly what you already have. Over the longer haul, you may very well need more, but that is generally not the starting point. How does that translate into today and tomorrow? Very simple. Determine the amount God wants you to return to Him.
Adopt a plan for living within what you presently have. Repay any money you have borrowed. And get ready to be free of anxiety! Generally stress results when we are unwilling to take these steps. We do not want to yield our finances to God. The easiest part often seems like the hardest part. Have you ever wondered how you could possibly afford to tithe? Well, the answer is, you cannot. If you wait until you can afford it, you may never get there. But if you decide to tithe because you believe God wants you to, you can start today. Just do it. If you are already obedient in the area of giving but still have anxiety due to money, then look at your spending. Do you have a plan for living within your means? If you have debt-related stress, then obviously you have overspent at some point. Is it ongoing? The answer is to adopt a balanced spending plan, or budget, that will at least keep you from going any further into debt. After you have stopped the hemorrhaging, you can figure out how to repay what you have already borrowed. But until you stop the overspending, you will never bring your finances into order.
If you can see everything you have as belonging to God, it will be easier to give up what you cannot afford to hold on to. If that is your car or your house, praise the Lord, and return it to Him. He may even give it back!
Adopt a plan for living within what you presently have. Repay any money you have borrowed. And get ready to be free of anxiety! Generally stress results when we are unwilling to take these steps. We do not want to yield our finances to God. The easiest part often seems like the hardest part. Have you ever wondered how you could possibly afford to tithe? Well, the answer is, you cannot. If you wait until you can afford it, you may never get there. But if you decide to tithe because you believe God wants you to, you can start today. Just do it. If you are already obedient in the area of giving but still have anxiety due to money, then look at your spending. Do you have a plan for living within your means? If you have debt-related stress, then obviously you have overspent at some point. Is it ongoing? The answer is to adopt a balanced spending plan, or budget, that will at least keep you from going any further into debt. After you have stopped the hemorrhaging, you can figure out how to repay what you have already borrowed. But until you stop the overspending, you will never bring your finances into order.
If you can see everything you have as belonging to God, it will be easier to give up what you cannot afford to hold on to. If that is your car or your house, praise the Lord, and return it to Him. He may even give it back!
Stress-Free Living
Do you want to live a less stressed life? You can by bringing your life in line with God's plan. Listen to Him--regularly and often and do what He tells you to. That means setting priorities and avoiding overcommitment. It means doing what needs to be done today by confronting procrastination and breaking jobs into manageable tasks. Finally, set your financial house in order by acknowledging God first, living within your means and eliminating debt.