I Declare War on Stress

Published" April 8, 2015

Stress consumes us. We must be here, we must be there. Remember to respond to this by tomorrow, and whoops, your bill was due yesterday. This is your expectation and this is how long you have to complete it. Oh, and traffic, traffic, make sure you get to work 5 minutes before your alarm goes off. We live in a world that seems to not have enough time to do anything, creating a very stressful environment.

This stress evolves and spreads as it forms in all sorts of our relationships. It can reflect from one person to the next, spreading like the plague. Not only does it spread, infecting everyone it touches, but it scars. Stress can make us say things we don’t mean, do things we wouldn’t normally do, and overreact. These reactions are irrational, and irrational thoughts, actions, and decisions are never a good thing.

Stress also causes other emotions. We become anxious, worrisome and outright unhappy. Our anxious minds occur when you feel like you need to have everything figured out, you must have a working plan, or you need to be perfect. Worrying about everything and anything except what is occurring tends to devour us. Worrying does not take away today's problems, it just takes away today's peace. Happiness is always threatened, as each day happiness is thought of as the best part of the day, instead of the entirety of the day. Happiness is often mistakenly assumed to be an emotion, but it is not the case. Happiness should be refrained from as an emotion because happiness is a way of life.

But don’t worry, together we can rescue each other. This must be a team effort, as stress is contagious. So, let’s form an army: an army against stress. Our army must be clever, must be tough, and must never lower our guard. We must prepare our weapons carefully and our strategies must be foolproof. But I have a plan, and it’s going to work.

First, we must have a weapon. Our greatest weapon against this enemy is the ability to choose it, or rather choose against it. As humans, we are able to choose one thought over another. We can control it by choosing to remove it; we can remove the stress right from our brains. We can, and we will.

Second, we must have a strategy. I believe in hard-work, but working hard for something that we don't care about is stress.  In opposition, working hard for something that we care deeply about is passion. When we are working hard, know the difference, because it is the difference between stress and no stress.

Third, we must know and accept struggle as challenge. Things are placed in front of us because we are meant to deal with them and grow from and with them. Each boulder in the path is not a road block, but rather a stepping stone towards standing taller. Changing your outlook towards positivity will greatly reduce stress in your life.

Finally, we must have a goal. Our goal here is a positive future, fulfilling all our expectations. Sometimes we want to just fast forward time to see if it's all worth it. Well, I have the answer. I asked my Grandma, and she said it is. If she says all of your hard work is worth it, then it is. That's got to be enough proof, OK?!  But, if a 92 year old cannot convince you, our army will. Our army will be victorious. Stress is a choice, and stress will be a washed-up-has-been that you will never think about again.

The most important thing about removing stress from your life is the beginning. Once you start, you will never stop.

So, will you become a part of the army? Will you join me?

Due to the Constitution of Happiness, I have the sole power to declare war on any governing body abusing a power against it’s people.

I declare WAR on Stress.

-Happiness in Handfulls