Before I start going into the biggest mistake we make when trying to get rid of stress, I wanted to take a moment and make one thing clear: stress is a part of life; some stress is even healthy for you.

But so often what happens is that we make stress mean something other than it is.

You see, as humans we have been given the power of free will. The power to choose our thoughts. And we get to choose between positive, negative, and neutral. So when things happen in our life we choose to make things much more stressful than they actually are.

For most, this is a hard concept to grasp because what we think we are reacting to is just the fact of life, but what we are ACTUALLY responding to is a thought about what is happening.

(I know, this stuff can get confusing but I promise it’s simple)

Here’s the biggest mistake we make when it comes to getting rid of stress.

The very act of getting rid of it is the mistake. By getting rid of it you are creating resistance and giving stress more power. By thinking there is a need to “get rid of it” you are presupposing there is something wrong to begin with.

What if peace comes first after you acknowledge you are at peace with the situation?

What if, by recognizing things are just happening because they are happening you stop resisting the moment?

What if, by allowing yourself in a non-judgmental way to feel whatever it is you are feeling, you are actually speeding up the process toward peace?

You see, stress is ultimately what we make it. When we are stressed, it allows us the opportunity to inquire within and ask, what is actually stressful here? Because when we really dig deep and ask ourselves, “so what?”, we will often find there is fear to be found and THAT is the real work we must tend to.

So the next time you feel stress creeping up around the corner, ask yourself, “so what?” and see what unfolds for you.

In wellness,

Susan