6 ways to de-stress your life as a Brave Hearted Stepper by Maria Guzman

Hello Brave Hearted Stepper,

Have you ever experienced a day, week, month, year, etc., that was crazy busy where you were constantly on the go, your stress level was at an all-time high, and all you really wanted to do was scream, AHHHHHHH, that's it no more!? 

If the answer is yes, you might be under some stress in your life. For example, you wake up in the morning, hear the alarm buzzing, turn it off (or put it on snooze), go back to bed, and cover your head while stressing out, thinking of what is to be done that day. With this mentality, we cause our own stresses in our lives even before our day had begun. That's why we need to have a positive mentality. As we wake up, instead of stressing out, thank God for waking us up and providing us a NEW day with renewed mercy (Lamentations 3:22-23). Thank God He controls everything you do daily (Ephesians 1:11).

Sometimes we try to please everyone around us and take on more than we can handle. This will only heighten the stress level and make us feel like we are drowning. The Bible says may your yes be yes, may your no be no. Matthew 5:37

Here are some internal and external factors regarding stress:

• Internal Factors:
• Includes your body's ability to deal with stress (as everybody handles stress differently) and the external stress factors; stress also influences your overall health (physical health, emotional health, and sleep).
• External Factors:
• Includes employment, children, relationships with others, home, all the situations, challenges, difficulties, and expectations you're confronted with on a daily basis, etc.

6 ways to de-stress your life as a Brave Hearted Stepper:

1. PRAY. Praying anytime will ease stress levels. Praying to God and asking for His help throughout the day will provide us peace in the midst of the storm(s) in our lives. Mark 4:37-39
2. FOCUS/PREPARE. Focus and preparing for the day, week, etc., will ease stress levels. For example, you work all week long. Prepare what you are going to wear the whole week instead of trying to figure out on a day-to-day basis what you are going to wear.
3. PRIORITIZE/ORGANIZE. Prioritizing and organizing will ease stress levels. For example, I have a "things to do" task list daily and update my calendar daily. If I do not get one of my tasks done on a specific day, I add it to the next day's "the thing to do" task list to complete it. In doing so, I don't have to worry about tomorrow's tasks today. Matthew 6:34
4. BALANCE. We definitely need balance in our lives. The Bible says that there is time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3). We need to spend time with God, our spouse (if applicable), our child or children (if applicable), our grandchild or grandchildren (if applicable), pets, etc. Also, we need to spend time for ourselves. For example, going for a walk along the beach or park and chillax (chill/relax), watching a good movie, reading a good book, exercising, hiking, etc.
5. SET REALISTIC GOALS. We need to set realistic goals. For example, a non-realistic goal is to be a "Wonder Woman". A realistic goal is to be a "Wonderful Woman". See reference blog post (How to set realistic goals). 
6. RECUPERATE/REST. We need to recuperate, rest, and unwind our bodies before going to sleep. For example, taking a bubble bath, massage therapy, etc.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for bringing awareness to how stress affects our bodies and what we can do to de-stress our lives as a Brave Hearted Stepper. Help us to focus and prepare our day, week, etc. Help us to prioritize and organize the tasks of the day. Help us to bring balance in every area of our lives. Help us to set realistic goals and be victorious as the goals are achieved for God's glory, and last but certainly not least, help us to recuperate and have restful night's sleep. I ask you in the name of Jesus, Amen.

The next blog post is scheduled for Friday, May 19, 2023.

Many Blessings,

Maria Guzman