how to design your own plan for stress reduction

Stress management advice is available everywhere you turn. If you read newspapers or magazines or search online, you already know many practical tips for stress reduction. The trick is how to put them into practice.
Here's one approach to help you turn ideas into action.
Use this article as a template. Grab a blank page and answer the following questions with your unique information. You will quickly have an overview of your own stress management action plan.
Follow your plan, even haphazardly, and you will be making significant progress toward a more peaceful and harmonious life!
Assess Your Current Level of Stress
List your top ten stressors. Rate each one of these on a 1-10 scale where 10 is horrible, the worst.
Highlight your top stressor. Also highlight the stressor you are most likely to be able to handle quickly.
Set Goals for Stress Reduction
For your top stressor, set a long term goal. Where would you like to be in one year? Six months? Three months? Work backward in time from your main goal. Of course, goals may be completed even sooner than your self-created deadlines. Remember to make your goals SMART -- Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Limited.
Now look at what you can do promptly to reduce stress on the item you are most likely to be able to handle quickly. Can you get this stress situation handled in one month? If that is likely, set a goal for one month and work backward toward today to create your action steps.
Is there something you can do today? Do you need to make a decision? Get more information? Enlist help? Relax and let it go because you've done all you can do? Now you have a problem solving plan and you probably feel more hopeful.
Brainstorm
Next, brainstorm with yourself, your spouse, or a trusted friend or family member.
How could you manage yourself and your environment related to each of these two stress reduction goals while you are working toward a longer term solution? List all the ideas you can think of, without censoring.
Physical
What can you do to relax and release tension on the physical level?
Emotional
What can you do to support yourself emotionally? How can you be loving and kind with yourself and anyone else involved while you are working this out?
Mental
How can you change your thinking and mental self-talk about the stressful problem? Are there other logical approaches to explore? Do you need more information for problem solving?
Spiritual
What spiritual resources can you call upon to help you get through this?
Choose Strategies
Now pick one or two strategies from this brainstorming list. Choose the ones that appeal to you the most. Are you willing to commit to doing these? How and when will you do them? Where? How can you set yourself up for success with your unique stress management program?
Take Your Action Steps
You now have a multi-level action plan and a self-support plan. Take your action steps for problem solving and use your self-support strategies.
Review, Revise and Repeat
Review your plan at least once a week and revise it as necessary. As you get one stressor reduced, or you relax a bit in one area, turn your attention to the next area and repeat this planning and action model. Do this over and over as often as necessary as you create a lifestyle of less stress and greater inner peace.
Speaking of creating inner peace, I invite you to sign up for my free newsletter, Simple Stress Solutions, at http://www.powerofpersonalpeace.com/optin.htm Find dozens of practical stress solutions in my ebook, The Power of Personal Peace, at http://www.powerofpersonalpeace.com/info.htm
If you have a question on stress reduction, learning to love yourself, creating success or related issues, email me at Dr.Ilenya@powerofpersonalpeace.com. If I answer your question on my blog, http://lovingyoursuccess.blogspot.com you'll get a free copy of my ebook, 77 Loving Steps for Success.
Dr. Ilenya Marrin is a personal peace coach, spiritual counselor, inspirational speaker and ebook author, helping you love yourself into less stress and greater personal peace.
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