Are You Living with Stress or Tension?

"Your body is an amazing creation, capable of performing great wonders, but you can destroy that miraculous machine's potential with an overdose of stress."

Alan Cleaver / Foter / CC BY

Stress is defined as the wear and tear of mind, body and spirit caused by changes in our inner and outer environment, whether it be our thoughts, emotions, or outside physical activities.

Tension is defined as the energy that creates the possibility of moving toward desired results. Life without tension is like a bowl of soup without any salt. The right amount of tension is needed. Excessive tension will commonly manifest itself as fatigue, or a constant sense of exhaustion.

Let's choose to reduce our excessive tension, or stress, and increase our potential and achievement. Here are some tips:

Plan your days and your life – it is so much easier to remain calm and focused if you know what you want to accomplish each day and where you are going with your life.

Exercise at least 30 minutes each day - the best cure for tension fatigue is exercise and the best form of exercise is simply walking.

Get enough sleep - make sure you know what your ideal amount of sleep time is and then make it a priority.

Be aware of what you are putting into your body - eat nutritious foods and take your time when eating.

Eliminate procrastination so things don't pile up - use the previously discussed "do it now" technique for this.

Just like in everything, you have a choice to make: use tension to your advantage or let stress exhaust you. Which will you choose?

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Post inspired by the Ultimate Success Program and Og Mandino's University of Success.

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What Do People See When They Look At You?

"The image you project, in many circumstances, is far more valuable than your skills or your record of past accomplishments."

Whether you like it or not, appearances do count. No, it's not "fair" but it is reality.

Why do people prejudge, stereotype, profile, and "judge a book by its cover"? At the core, it's a basic survival instinct. Internally we're asking the question "are you like me or different from me?"

If you are trying to be accepted by other individuals or groups of people, you need to make sure your appearance is acceptable to them so they will be more comfortable with you.

Some people will see you as a positive, others will see you as a negative, others will ignore you altogether – and each person will quickly decide their “first impression” of you and categorize you.

Always be aware that “people do judge a book by its cover” but understand that you can present yourself more comfortably to others through your choice of clothes, actions, and overall appearance.

"The world is governed more by appearances than by realities." ~ Daniel Webster

So remember, if you want to be accepted as a (you fill in the blank), then dress and act like a (what you filled in the previous blank with).

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Post inspired by the Ultimate Success Program and Og Mandino's University of Success.

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Do You Have This Special Character Trait?

"If your energy is as boundless as your ambition, total commitment may be a way of life you should seriously consider."

Do you have the state, or instance, of being obligated or emotionally impelled?

That's the dictionary definition of commitment.

eschipul / Foter / CC BY-SA

Total commitment is:
- the level of commitment that includes enjoyment of working toward your goals
- the sacrifice of other activities that are distractions from your goals
- the ability to focus, concentrate, and think with clarity to enter into the state of flow

Total commitment is not a lifestyle recommended for everyone.

Are you willing to go "all in" and work hard to experience success?

If not, you can stop reading now.

You have probably experienced some “magic moments” when you are doing something you really love to do, where you have set aside distractions and are able to focus and concentrate for long enough to really get into the flow of things. You lose your sense of time, there seems to be no past or future, only the present; and you have the sense that you have become one with the activity in which you are engaged in the moment.

One of the steps to getting in the "flow" is to work quickly and with passion, do not slow down, keep up the feverish pace of thought and action, lose yourself in the moment, and allow yourself the freedom to truly be in the present. Be aware that no one can, or should, remain in a constant state of flow.

Do more than you are expected to do, you will be noticed as someone who is different from others, someone who has risen above the negative and lazy attitudes of others, and for doing so, you will be presented with many opportunities for promotion and advancement.

Total commitment is one of the few ways to experience a life that results in the attainment of important personal goals. Do you have total commitment?

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Post inspired by the Ultimate Success Program (affiliate link)

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