The Stress Checker
Stress is something that I find to be very interesting. The reason that I say that is because you never really know what might be causing it. You can wake up early every day, get your 7-8 hours of sleep, eat your fruits and veggies, drink your water, get your exercise and still feel stress! It’s almost like WHAT’S WRONG! Now, if you haven’t really been doing any of the things mentioned up above, then don't worry about continuing the read, because those things could very well have an effect on your stress levels, trust me I know! But if you are anything like me and you are trying to figure out why you might be stressed, I think I have come to find something that might be the case. And if you find any value in it, please take it! Please!
So this is something that I call the “Stress Checker”. I believe in all of us, God has given a radar in our hearts and in our minds. This is the same radar that I believe was found in the rich young ruler in Luke 18. It’s where you are doing everything you think you should be doing but you know something is off. There is something STRESSING US OUT! And now the question is, what is it that is stressing us out. And it actually is very simple. What do we believe we should be doing vs what are we actually doing? When those things are not in line then we will experience stress.
How do you know what you believe what you should be doing? Write out your priorities. What are they? It may look something like; God, family, Friends, Career. Or it could be something more abstract like; God, others, me. Now that is the easy part, writing down your priorities. Now the question is, what does it look like making that priority the priority that it is? Because the truth of the matter is just having the list by itself is like having bones and thinking it's a human, kind of disappointing if you ask me. Whether it is spending time with God first in the morning, or going for a jog so you are awake and alert before spending time with Him. Spending less time at work and more time with those you love. Making it a habit to call a friend once in a while that you haven’t talked to. Stopping and making sure your neighbor doesn't need help or the guy at the cash register that you walk past every time.
Write it down and put it somewhere you can see it every day! Seek every day to do just a little towards the things that you value as important. My most stress free days are the ones where I wake up exercise, have uninterrupted time with God, talk to my girlfriend Natali, drink water and go to work. Why? Because those things line up with my priorities and things I believe I should do. It is also something like, taking time to go help someone out even when I have a busy day because it is a priority and something I believe I should do. What does it look like for you?
We can work against the “stress checker” I believe God has placed in us, or we can work with it! If we work against it, we could easily end up like the rich young ruler, who walked away sad; my translation would have been stressed. But if we work with it, we can find ourselves being more fulfilled in the life that God has given us. I want you to know that the “Stress Checker” is something that your pastor is working on too, this week especially. It’s what I like to call, habits in the making! But if I can get better at this, I have no doubt that you reading this can get better too. Blessings and Happy Week!