Stress

Talks

Quotes

I’ve always been crazy but it’s kept me from going insane.”  Waylon Jennings

“I would be happy to deal with my problems one at a time, but they refuse to get in line.”

I don’t picture the Lord up in heaven stressed out.  I don’t picture him in panic mode, rushing about the universe, worrying about things.  If we are to become like him, we must be calm.

I have been through some terrible things in my life; some of which actually happened.  Mark Twain    

Gary Emery once said, “Worry is often about trying to solve something that’s not solvable at the moment.” 

When I don’t have anything to worry about, I begin to worry about that.

Worry is a fast getaway on a wooden horse.

Worriers spend a lot of time shoveling smoke.

We are in a hurry to get home at night so we can go to bed, so we can get up for work so we can go home again.  We spend weekends getting a jump on the week ahead.  We are so oriented to the future, we don’t live in the present.

Concerns must pass ALL criteria before I can worry about it:

1. Is it real?  Does it exist?

2. Is it within my control?

3. Does it matter?

Have boxes in your mind.  If you have a problem, put it in a box and shut the lid and leave it closed.  When you are ready to deal with it, open it, evaluate it, and make a decision only once and then close it for good.

Benefits of stress

1. Your body functions at maximum capacity

2. It takes you out of your comfort zone, increasing your potential

3. Increases humility and helps you realize your dependence on God

4. Helps you realize you’re better than you thought

The best way to eliminate stress – Change your motto from “A job worth doing is worth doing well” (perfectionism) to “It’s good enough for who it’s for.” (reasonable allocation of time and resources.) – Shannon Williams

Absence of stress = death

Stressed spelled backwards is desserts

Life gives you two resources – time and energy.  The goal is to use your two resources to create as much joy and happiness as possible.  Don’t waste these valuable resources on worry, regret, guilt or grudges. – Shannon Williams

LeGrand Richard’s philosophy of life –

“Of all the worries under the sun

There is an answer or there is none.

If there be one then run and find it.

If there be none then never mind it.”

Rules for stress diet

1. If no one sees you eat it, it doesn’t have any calories.

2. Calories in a Sara Lee Cheesecake can be cancelled by drinking a diet pop along with it.

3. Calories taken in do not count if the person you’re with eats more than you.

4. If you lick it off a knife while cooking, the calories don’t count.

If you can’t flight or flee, flow.

Always be like a duck on the surface of the water: calm and unruffled; but paddle like crazy underneath!!

If you never say no, what is the worth of your yes?

The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into old age, with boundless curiosity about the future, flexibility, growing, hoping, trying and ready at all times for any worthwhile change. – Carlyle

The next time you pass a rose bush in bloom without stopping to smell, ask yourself honestly if the place you’re rushing to get to will give you more joy than what you’re just passed up.

A speaker once posed the question of whether it is best to live a “planned life” or a “spontaneous life.”  That seems to be like asking whether it is best to create an oil painting with a brush or with paint.  They are teammates not enemies or opposites.

Spontaneity requires freedom of an ordered uncluttered mind.

“It’s remarkable how much we can learn about life by studying nature. For example, scientists can look at the rings of trees and make educated guesses about climate and growing conditions hundreds and even thousands of years ago. One of the things we learn from studying the growth of trees is that during seasons when conditions are ideal, trees grow at a normal rate. However, during seasons when growing conditions are not ideal, trees slow down their growth and devote their energy to the basic elements necessary for survival.

Have you ever been in an airplane and experienced turbulence? The most common cause of turbulence is a sudden change in air movement causing the aircraft to pitch, yaw, and roll. While planes are built to withstand far greater turbulence than anything you would encounter on a regular flight, it still may be disconcerting to passengers.

What do you suppose pilots do when they encounter turbulence? A student pilot may think that increasing speed is a good strategy because it will get them through the turbulence faster. But that may be the wrong thing to do. Professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed. The same principle applies also to speed bumps on a road.

Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions.

This is a simple but critical lesson to learn. It may seem logical when put in terms of trees or turbulence, but it’s surprising how easy it is to ignore this lesson when it comes to applying these principles in our own daily lives. When stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, too often we attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking somehow that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be.

One of the characteristics of modern life seems to be that we are moving at an ever-increasing rate, regardless of turbulence or obstacles. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October Conference Talk 2010 “Of Things that Matter Most”

We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.  Thomas S. Monson