The Science Behind the Law of Attraction Magazine October Magazine, 2017 | Page 21

Th e Si m pl e Secr et For Gi v i n g t h e Boot t o STRESS By Featur ed Colum nist Ellen Wood Recently I read in the Huffington Post that stress may be considered the new ?normal.? That seems to confirm what audience members have been telling me about living with constant stress. So it?s quite likely that you, too, are going through very challenging, stressful times. Noticing your thoughts is the first step to help you make it through these tough times with a measure of grace. Having challenges won?t change, but your perspective about those challenges can change. Your perspective depends on what you focus on and your focus depends on what?s in your mind ? what your thoughts are. Watching your thoughts empowers you to be able to choose your focus and adjust the lens through which you view and respond to life. Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychologist, survived and even experienced bliss in the concentration camps of the Holocaust. How could he do this? In the horrors of Auschwitz? Frankl made it his mission, even in the toughest of circumstances, to contemplate love and seek meaning. His book, Man?s Search for Meaning, chronicles his experiences and discoveries about human psychology as a prisoner of the Nazis. When you?re in a predicament, take a couple deep breaths and observe your thoughts. Are you focused on the problem or the solution? If you?re focused on the problem and how miserable you feel, that?s what you?ll continue to see and feel. And if you?re focused on the solution, in due time you?ll see a way to resolve your problem. Often though, once you?re in that stressful situation, the old fear-based reaction kicks in. That?s why a daily practice of observing your thoughts in relatively benign moments is so critical. Just like a basketball player practicing free throws over and over again at home, we practice when the stakes are low so we?ll be prepared when the stakes are high. Regardless of what we?re going through, each person?s journey is uniquely challenging. There?s an old saying: Every man?s burden is the heaviest. So as you meet your unique challenges, I?m inviting you to be inspired by someone who found bliss ? Bliss! ? in a concentration camp. Frankl was a master of diligently observing his thoughts. Then he took it a step further by choosing to focus on purpose and meaning. Can you imagine the character he developed while training himself to watch his thoughts and stay positive in that environment? Whatever we?re going through we can choose to just go through, or grow through. Did you know that the best wines come from grapes that have to work to thrive? Although grapes can be grown in many places, the best wine comes from those grown in soils that stress the vines and climates just barely warm enough for them to ripen. It?s the same with us. Our excellence is born from overcoming challenges. Or, as Viktor Frankl said: ?What is to give light must endure burning." Ellen Wood of Taos, NM is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of ?Think and Grow Young: My Journey Through Alzheimer?s to the Fountain of Youth.? Her new book is ?Joy! Joy! Joy! 7 Mind Body Spirit Self-Help Practices to Relieve Stress and Anxiety, Reverse Memory Loss and Live Happy?. Visit www.bookofjoyjoyjoy.com. Contact her at [email protected] Page 21 - Oct ./ Nov. 2017