My significant other is upset with me. My kid wont stay out of trouble. My boss is always harping on me... I go home and it's like I'm just going through the motion. The question is to what degree are we going to let this stress rob of us of the joy in life?

There are all types of stress. Loss of Job, divorce, marriage, new infant, new job, loss of life or pet, returning from war with injuries mentally and physically. Regardless, if not handled appropriately this could put us in a downhill spiral. The good news! We can turn this around and instead of seeing it as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder lets view this as Post traumatic growth stimulus.

Whether you lose an arm or a job the decision is yours, do not let these things defeat you. You've got this!
We wont sit here and tell you the stresses that you have are easy to overcome, or that "Misery is a choice" - But we will tell you that there a few things you can do to help manage your stress.

1st Discover strength's and abilities - we need to be able to recognize the points of stress and be able to discuss the strengths and abilities within them.

2nd Family & friends - surround yourself with people that are positive, the people who can lift you up, the people you can trust. This allows you to have deeper relationships, the ones we all long for.

3rd Antibodies - USE STRESS INSTEAD OF Stress USING YOU! Always have a plan B as we know life is forever changing. It's not what happens to you, it's how you react that will impact you.

RITUALS

1st GET REAL WITH YOURSELF - Do self-discovery and inventory. Be aware of goals and changes you need to do to make these your reality.

2nd Don't rush it - Everyone is different. Whether its 3 months or 3 years, people adjust, they develop something inside of them that allows those strengths and abilities shine through, resulting growth.

GRATITUDE

Focus on what you have instead of what you don't have. This very act is what we recognize as Gratitude. Start planning with rituals. Take the 5 acts of kindness for example, they say 5 acts of kindness will fill you for 3 weeks! And then it reboots.

So go out today and Say Good Morning to everyone, Smile, Open doors, go thru drive through pay for person behind you. Pay it forward. Work in soup kitchen, donate your time to the less fortunate, Work on charity events, tell someone you love them. Clean elderly person's home, buy flowers or make cookies and deliver them. Always do something and expect nothing in return.

Ultimately, Serve your patients on a higher level and make sure you give them the WOW FACTOR. Pay attention to them by looking at them when discussing. Engage them and talk to them about themselves and family. Remember, this is a service industry and we are there to serve.

Help your teammates and have their backs. Set systems into place so they are "Fool Proof" Always have awareness of what task needs to be completed and just do it. Don't forget TEAM stands for "Together Everyone Achieves More".

John Bunyan once said,

"You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you."

Live. The one goal we all long to accomplish is to live, manage the stresses in your life so that you can do everything you've ever wanted to!