Page 34 - Workbook2E

Now What?
Happily, lifestyle diseases for the most part are preventable or correctable by altering the habits and behavior that contribute to their development. Although stress may not be a direct cause of these illnesses, stress weakens the body’s systems, which rapidly advances the disease process. And since it’s virtually impossible to go through life without any stress— it’s important to develop healthy coping strategies to deal with it.
Your Mailbox...
You walk to your mailbox. You can see it’s over-flowing with several envelopes that look like bills. You literally begin to feel ill. There’s a notice for a registered letter awaiting you at the Post Office, your bank statement and several overdue notices. As you walk back to
your house you can feel your stress level rising, your palms are sweating, your heart beats quicker and your breathing faster. When you open your bank statement, you’re stunned! The charges for overdrawn checks total over a hundred dollars. The little bit of extra money you were counting on has been eaten up by fees and penalties. Suddenly the walk back to your house seems like an uphill journey of a hundred miles.
Good News!
There is a better journey for you to take. This Workbook helps you discover your personal financial stress management issues, and gives
you insight and ideas to improve your attitude toward difficulties and how you handle stress. This process raises questions about money, your job, your circle of contacts, etc. You’ll gain a clearer understanding of how you relate to money, use time, make decisions, and deal with several areas of your life. You’ll also learn useful strategies to handle your stress and guide you further down the road to financial freedom.
2 Managing Stress in Your Life
Stress in your life can either be negative or positive, destructive or beneficial, and your enemy or your ally. Research shows some degree of stress is important to staying healthy. Stress can serve as a positive motivator, inspiring you to new heights of accomplishment, and may be essential to optimal performance, like the thrill and inspiration of falling in love, starting a new company, or building a house. Many of these changes can bring both positive and negative stress.
“I cannot and should not be cured of my stress, but merely taught to enjoy it.”
~ Hans Seyle
30 Workbook 2: Improve Your Financial Life