What Is Chronic Stress?

Stress is the normal reaction of our bodies to external situations and influences. Circumstances arise that cause our bodies to increase heart rate and cortisol is released. In short term situations, like a house fire, this is beneficial. It allows us to escape from danger. After the threat has passed, cortisol levels return to normal and everything is fine. However, other situations, like everyday life, can and do, increase our stress. And when they are under a constant barrage of stressors, then this leads to chronic stress.

If life were so simple that our stress was easily digestible, then all would be well. But that is rarely the case. I know what you’re thinking, “I don’t have any stress; My life is good.” Does this sound familiar? 

Morning comes, and the kids need breakfast. Running late for school and work you get everyone thrown into the car to start heading towards your destination. You make the turn out of the neighborhood to find out they are repainting lines on the street, which is causing a backup of traffic. After your five-minute ride to the school turns into 30 minutes, you hurriedly get the kids dropped off, dodge the maze of other parents, and make your way to the highway. You turn onto the highway, praying that traffic goes your way because it takes exactly 22 minutes to get from there to work and you have 27 minutes to get there before you are late. You make the turn onto the ramp and sit. Your highway has become a parking lot.

If you could stop there and do some stress relief techniques, you would be fine, but life doesn’t do that. The demands of home-life, commutes, work and an always-on-always-available stream of negative news, Facebook news feeds, IG posts, and 24-hour lifestyle, keep our levels elevated. This prolonged exposure to all of this outside stimuli compound, until one day, we throw our hands in the air in frustration, scream “I give up!” and collapse from exhaustion. That is Chronic Stress and if left unchecked, it can kill you.

HOW?

According to an article from the Mayo Clinic, Chronic Stress affects many aspects of your life. Just a few of the tale-tale signs that you are suffering from chronic stress are:

• Headaches
• Pain
• Changes in Sexual Activity
• Insomnia / Sleep Problems
• Digestive Problems
• Loss of Memory
• Loss of Concentration
• Weight Gain
• Irritability

Any combination of these things add up and can lead to the most dangerous of them all Heart Disease. 

WHAT CAN I DO? 

Specific stress reduction techniques vary according to each person (maybe running isn’t your thing, but swimming is), but they all share a common theme.

• Find your center through a form of meditation,
• Clear your mind through creative ventures (writing, painting, music, etc.),
• Change your physical habits through exercise and diet,
• And lastly, affect change in your life.

With a stressful life, you can not lead happy life. There is no sense staying stuck in the same rut over and over again, just because that is the way I have always been. Time and again, people say, I don’t have time for meditation. I used to write when I was in college, but then life happened. Once I get home, I don’t have time to cook meals, I order in, I can’t possibly take the time out to go to the Gym with my hectic schedule. None of these statements are correct, we only believe them to be true.

Instead of sitting on the couch, binge-watching episodes of your favorite show. Unplug and do something. Once the habit of reorienting your life starts stress will be something that you knew you once had but will no longer be a present factor in your daily life. Sure, things pop up, but if you remember that there are outlets for the stress and that you have a plan, then you can be sure that you can handle anything life throws at you.

Did you know that 85 percent of people have low-esteem? This issue affects their personal and professional lives, including their careers, their health, and their salaries. In other words, self-doubt and low self-esteem can keep you from reaching your peak potential.

These personality traits appear to be more common among women. They develop in childhood and either exacerbate or diminish with time. If self-doubt plagues you, check out these tips to boost your confidence and trust yourself more:

Accept Yourself

Self-doubt is part of being human. Embrace self-doubt and turn it into a strength. When used correctly, this personality trait can help you make better decisions instead of rushing into things. Think of it as a tool that guides your actions and keeps you from making costly mistakes.

Just make sure you don't overuse it, though, because self-doubt can also make you question your sanity and decision-making abilities.

Know You're Not Alone

Even the most successful people have doubts. They often question their actions and wonder what the right thing to do is.

Focus on building your confidence and self-esteem. You might never get rid of doubts, but you can stop them from taking over your life.

Get the Facts

Your doubts don't necessarily reflect the truth. Most times, they mirror your fears and emotional struggles. Think about your achievements and how hard you worked to get where you are today. Be proud of yourself and admire your capabilities.

Whenever you're in doubt, get the facts straight. Research the problem in question, weigh the pros and cons, and ask for a second opinion.

Acknowledge Your Strengths

Make a list of things you excel in. Write down your skills and accomplishments. Accept praise from others gracefully and acknowledge your talent.

Celebrate your strengths every single day. Make positive affirmations and remind yourself how much you've done so far. Stop thinking of what you could have done better.

Choose Your Friends Wisely

Negative people can drag you down and ruin your self-esteem. Nothing will ever be good enough for them. The most important you can do is surround yourself with positive people who support you and listen to you instead of judging.

Define Your Values

Lastly, define your values and the values you live by daily. Once you establish those, you will have a more realistic perspective of the current situation. Focus on the things that drive your actions and are at the core of your beliefs.

Overcoming self-doubt is a lifelong process. Stop questioning your own decisions. Don’t waste time overanalyzing - trust your actions and put your plans in motion.

We’ve all experienced mental fog. You feel your brain is in the clouds instead of an actual brain. Its symptoms include:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Diminished memory
• Find it hard to focus
• Poor communication skills
• Low motivation
• Easily distracted

Brain fog is a result of any imbalance in the control center of the brain, otherwise known as the hypothalamus. This imbalance can be a result of inflammation, free radicals or any stress brought on by several factors, such as:

• Multi-tasking
• Exhaustion
• Anxiety
• PTSD
• Imbalanced hormones
• Infections
• Not getting enough sun exposure
• Substance abuse

Even though the mental fog is natural as a result of our busy, nonstop lifestyles, it shouldn’t happen frequently. If you feel that you’re experiencing fogginess more often than you’d like, then here are some simple changes you can do to stop it from happening and prevent any future occurrences.

·         Eat right

It’s incredible how much power our food has over us. Processed foods high in saturated fats and gluten all have a negative effect on your brain. So much so that a study has proven how gluten sensitivity has been linked to low concentration and focus abilities. Also, not getting enough water into your system can lead to brain freeze.

• Take your vitamins

If your diet is lacking in antioxidants, vitamins, such as D and B complex, or minerals, such as calcium, zinc, and magnesium, then you should start looking for supplements that work along with your diet and provide you with all the necessary nourishment you’re lacking.

·         Get better sleep

We all sleep, but it’s the quality of our sleep that can either make us or break us. High quality sleep improves brain function on the whole. While it’s ideal for getting the full 8 hours each night, some people require only 6 for optimal effectiveness. Find what works best for you, then regulate your sleep by creating a relaxing bedtime routine and a comfortable sleeping area.

·         Work out

When you exercise, you send fresh, oxygenated blood to your entire body, mainly your brain. This boosts its cognitive functions and diminishes brain fog. Studies have proven how exercise can improve learning and study skills, optimize concentration and memory skills.

·         Find a hobby

While we tell ourselves there aren’t enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done, let alone find time to enjoy a hobby, there are ways to incorporate fun, relaxing activities into your weekly schedule. The first step is to schedule some “me” time and stop thinking it’s selfish, like most of us do. The second step is to find something you enjoy doing to chill out. It could be meditating by yourself in a quiet room with scented candles, or a class or club and getting to meet new people. The final step is to decompress and enjoy.

Brain fog is entirely reversible. You need to do the work and find out what works for you. Each one of us is unique, so it may be a bit challenging at first to find that perfect fit. You’ll be glad you made an effort once you regain clarity and be able to perform at your best.

“If, when you are faced with trouble, whether it be old or new, you can affirm positively the harmony of being and then refuse to open the case, no matter how much fear may urge you to do so, you have to cast your burdens upon the Lord, and you will win.” Emmet Fox

Many thoughts pass through my mind. They only become mine when I stop them and start a conversation with them. "Resist not Evil", trying to remove old thought patterns when trouble comes gives the trouble power. I go immediately to prayer/thoughts of God. With this treatment, most trouble disappears by itself. If it persists refuse to open the case and persist with the treatment till you are victorious.

“In the long run, no one can retain what does not belong to him by right of consciousness, nor be deprived of that which is truly his by the same supreme title.

Therefore, you will do well not to lay up treasures upon the earth, but rather to lay up treasure in heaven; that is, the understanding of Spiritual Law. If you are looking to outer, passing, mutable things for either happiness or security, you are not putting God first. If you are putting God first in your life, you will not find yourself laboring under undue anxiety about anything, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

Treasure in Heaven" from "The Sermon on the Mount" Emmet Fox

It is always dangerous to cherry-pick a phrase out of the context it is in. Here is one case especially if you have never studied Emmet Fox's writings. Reading the preceding 4 paragraphs in "Treasure in Heaven" is essential to get an understanding of what he is saying here. Most adults taught that you should do good works without getting compensation. That God would pay you when you die and go to heaven. With this logic, if you love what you do to earn a living you will never get to heaven.

Here are the three preceding paragraphs to give you some insight to his meaning.

The safest banks can and do fail; unforeseen catastrophes happen on the stock market; mines and oil wells five out or may be destroyed by some natural cataclysm; a new invention may easily ruin an old one, the opening or closing of a railroad station, or the starting of some new enterprise somewhere else, may ruin the value of your real estate, to say nothing of the unpredictable effect of unexpected political upheavals upon every kind of property. In short, it is a waste of time to give too much attention to collecting material possessions which are so vulnerable to changes and chances, to "moth and rust," and thieves.

If a reasonable part of the time and attention that most people spend in the pursuit of material goods were devoted by them to scientific prayer and meditation, the change in consciousness which would follow would put them beyond any possibility of suffering from any of these hazards.

If you had sufficient spiritual understanding of supply, your investments probably would not go wrong: but if they did, your posses would e immediately replaced in some other way, and before you had time to suffer from them. If let us say, the bank in which your fortune was deposited should stop payment on Monday, then, probably before the end of the week, an equivalent sum of money, or at least as much as you could possibly need, would come to you from somewhere else - if you had sufficient spiritual understanding. If any case, the owner of a prosperity consciousness cannot be impoverished; nor, for the matter of that, can the owner of a poverty consciousness be permanently enriched.

“Another of the great mental laws is the law of relaxation. In all mental working, effort defeats itself. This is just the opposite of what we find on the physical plane, but it will not surprise us because we know that in many cases the laws of mind are the reverse of the laws of matter.

On the physical plane, the harder you press a drill the faster will it go through a plank. The harder you hammer a nail the sooner does it go into the wall. But any attempt at mental pressure is foredoomed to failure because the moment tension begins, the mind stops working creatively. When you try to force things mentally, when you try to hurry mentally, you simply stop your creative power.

In all mental working be relaxed, gentle & unhurried for effort defeats itself.

...in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength... Isaiah 30:`15

January 24  Around the Year With Emmet Fox 

My application of this.

"Let us sleep on that." This saying uses the law of relaxation. You get to the point of exhausting your mental faculties and use "Let us sleep on that." chances are good when you wake you will have a resolution.

"Move a muscle change a thought." is another one. Moving a muscle distracts your mental pressure.

Both of these sayings allow your creative mind to find solutions. Once I learned these actions, I started to use them earlier and earlier in my thought process. This made me more productive. Forcing thought only causes friction, not solutions.

“Each man is an individual enterprise on the part of God, so no two of them are alike.” Emmet Fox (The Science of Living)

I pass this gate that squeaks. I wonder why no one oils the hinge? Then God presses this thought on my heart, "I have everyone else on other projects. You are the only one I have available to oil this gate. If you do not oil it, it will not get done."

“Thoughts of God, thoughts of kindness, of optimism, and goodwill, are the food of health, joy, and success; and if you furnish a bountiful supply of this food you will attract these things as well. When you want to get some condition out of your life, starve it out by refusing to furnish any of the food upon which it thrives, and you will be surprised how rapidly it will leave you. It will go away in a hurry somewhere else, where its food is obtainable.” Emmet Fox (Make Your Life Worth While)

Develop gratitude for everything that is happening in your life. The time we spend on deciding that a thought is not of kindness, of optimism, and goodwill, is entertaining the negative thought. "Resist not evil." The time we spend fighting off a negative thought is empowering the negative thought. Saying that we are grateful is not enough. We have to look for the reason that the red light is helping us not holding us back.

When you develop this skill in your heart and mind, you will be surprised to see how quickly your surroundings will begin to change to align with your new thoughts.

Everyone has someone difficult in their lives. It could be a family member, a friend, or a coworker. There’s the drama queen - this person lives and breathes drama. Nothing is a simple reaction - everything is an overreaction.

Then there’s the complainer - the person who is never happy or satisfied with anyone or anything. They never saw a rainbow in their life and continually gripe. There’s the dream killer. Whatever dream you have and are excited about, they’re going to tell you everything that’s going to go wrong and give you case after case of people who tried and flopped.

You may be dealing with a perfectionist, or a know it all - or the sarcastic person who ridicules people. Maybe it is the person who makes snide, hurtful remarks, then brushes it off by saying, “they were joking.”

Regardless of which type of difficult person you have to deal with, the results are the same. They drain your mental energy, and if you’re not careful, you can find yourself being affected by some of their habits.

There are ways that you can have a solid plan for and put in place so that these people don’t get to impact your mental well-being. If someone is spewing negativity, or they’re railing about something that you know has the power to affect you, first, take a deep breath and slowly let it out to center yourself.

Then, ask yourself if there’s any truth to the statements or situation. If there is, decide if it impacts your happiness, finances, relationships, or your job. If not, let it go.

There’s no need to jump into the middle of a drama that’s not yours. If the problematic person is bringing or creating a situation that does have something to do with you, ask yourself if you can change it.

If so, ask what the best way to deal with it is. If there’s no action that you can take, then let it go. Trying to solve the unsolvable is a recipe for success. Recognize that sometimes, there is no closure, and you have to move on, leaving things as is.

Don’t engage with difficult people who are just looking to complain, insult, or tear you down. It’s not your battle. Let them be angry or miserable, and don’t take on that burden.

With proper self-care habits, there should be firm boundaries in place for dealing with difficult people.

You can say that you don’t want to hear something if it’s negative or gossipy, or you know it’s not going to serve a purpose in your life. You can also state that there’s nothing you can do if a difficult person is pressing you for help you don’t have or don’t want to give.

Sometimes, no matter what you do, you can’t help the other person. Walk away from stressful people that are negatively impacting your life. Go and recuperate from the stress by relaxing and rejuvenating yourself with something positive that nurtures you.

Life never sits still. Its always moving, always changing. But changing to change is wasted motion. Sometimes, change is good, but sometimes, it’s not. The people in your life may be the motivation for the difference. You may marry or divorce. You may have lost a loved one. It may be a necessary job change, but it could be that you may lose a career that you loved. You may have to sell a house or buy one.

Change is something that can be easy to deal with, and you might feel excited and ready for it. But sometimes, it wasn’t what you wanted, and you weren’t expecting it. That can be excruciating to handle. 

Finding a way to cope with change and learning how is an integral part of self-care. Remember that you’re not a machine. You have a wide range of emotions, and you will feel them as you implement changes. You might be up one day and down the next. If you’re going through some change, take it easy on yourself. Understand that eventually, things will return to normal, or you’ll get used to your new normal.

If the change that happened was one that you didn’t want, and it involves another person, don’t jump on board the blame train. There’s no happy ending destination when you waste time traveling the blame train. Just accept that this change has happened and go about the business of learning the best way to deal with it. Accept that it will be a while before things turn out the way you’d like them to.

Change can be a long or short process. Just be patient and keep hanging in there. When the change that you’re coping with is not a pleasant one, reach out to people who are supportive of you. Let them know what’s going on. The people who care about you want what’s best for you. They’ll be happy to listen and help with whatever you need. Getting the emotions out can be beneficial when you’re coping with a change so that you don’t keep everything locked within. 

Sometimes, a change is so unpleasant that it rattles you. As long as you focus your attention on what’s wrong, on what’s uncomfortable about the situation, your emotions will settle there.  All you’ll see is the downside of what’s occurring. For example, you might focus on all of the bad that comes with losing a job rather than seeing the good that could come from it - such as now you’re free to start your own business or move somewhere you’ve always wanted to live and start over. 

An uplifting way to practice self-care during a change is to make sure you don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Take care of what you can today, and don’t fret about tomorrow’s problem that the change may bring. Taking care of yourself needs to be at the top of your list. Keep your focus on your needs. Rest when you need to. Take five minutes to get alone and meditate if you need to. Whatever your mind or body requires, do it.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but trust me when I say, “you are good enough.” No matter what you are going through right now, you need to believe in yourself.

Self-belief will help get you through the tough times, and then propel you towards your goals in the good times. If you suffer from a lack of self-belief, all hope is not lost! You can begin to cultivate it by following the tips:

1. Identify Your Negative Feelings
   You need to recognize and acknowledge the negative feelings you have about yourself. You can’t just stick your head in the sand and ignore them. Think about them, write them down and say them out loud. Make a mental note to catch yourself when you start thinking about these things.
   
2. Keep Track of Your Wins
   Take some time to write down a list of your “wins.” These can be successes you’ve had in your life, relationships that matter to you, and anything else you are grateful for. Anytime your self-talk starts the mantra; you aren’t good enough; reflect on the list to remind yourself that you are.
   
3. Ask Others For Positive Feedback
   We are often our own worst critics. Take some time to reach out to people you trust and ask them what they think your strengths are. You might be surprised by what you hear.
   
4. Work On Your Competence
   Competence breeds confidence. If you lack self-belief, one of the best things you can do is commit to lifelong learning. The more you know about a subject, the more confident you will be in your abilities.
   
5. Focus On Your Strengths
   Stop beating yourself up over what you lack. Instead of worrying about the things you can’t do well, focus on the things you can do well.
   
6. Stop Comparing
   One of the worst things you can do is compare your circumstances to others. First off, there is no race, and you don’t have to compete with anyone. Secondly, you have no idea what kind of lives other people live.
   
7. Take Care of Yourself
   If you lack self-belief, don’t let that hold you back from taking care of yourself. Commit to eating right and exercising. You will naturally feel better about yourself if you are actively working towards a healthier lifestyle.
   
8. Visualize A Confident You
   Even if you don’t feel confident, act as if you are filled with confidence. Take time to visualize what you would be like with limitless self-belief. Don’t be afraid to think big either. Imagine yourself with everything you want – including a new confident attitude.
   
9. Set a Goal
   The mere act of setting a goal can instantly help you feel more confident. Even if you doubt your capability to achieve the goal, taking action and working towards this goal will build the momentum you need.

ACTIONABLE STEPS

If you were to develop one skill to help you to get ahead in all aspects of life, what would it be? You would develop the habit of learning.

Studies have shown that by far, the best advantage you can give yourself is to become a lifelong learner. Why? Because without learning, the mind stagnates.

Thankfully, becoming a lifelong learner isn’t hard. Below are ten easy ways to build a habit of learning that will serve you in years to come.

Commit

Unless you make lifelong learning a priority, you’re not going to enjoy success. You start with committing to change and then go from there.

Create a Personalized Learning Environment

True learning results when you take charge of your learning environment. Sit down with your mentor and make concrete goals. Set up a system that enables you to learn and a setting in which you can learn. Once you have this, you are genuinely ready to begin.

Read

Read books, magazines, news articles, academic journals, and anything that catches your attention. If it’s interesting to you, then it’s worth pursuing.

Keep a List

Have a question? Write it down. Come back to this list later and Google the answers. Let this become the jumping-off point for learning new things.

Create

Create a project out of one of the things you find interesting. Set goals, give a timeline, and a final deadline to complete it. Invite others to take part in your project with you. You learn so much more when you collaborate. Create milestones and celebrate each one on your road to completion.

Socialize

Hang out with smart people who also enjoy learning. These will become your encouragers and mentors along the way.

Become a Mentor Yourself

We all have something we’re good at and could teach. Your particular skill set might be what someone else needs to succeed. By getting involved in mentoring, you find yourself not only cementing the knowledge you already have but learning new things as well.

Try Different Learning Styles

If you’ve always thought of yourself as one kind of learner, try a new way to learn. You’ll stimulate your brain in new and exciting ways.

Study with Others

When you work with a group, it’s generally easier to learn as you can draw upon the base of shared knowledge. That, in turn, helps you to discover new things yourself. 

Seek out a Job that Encourages Lifelong Learning

The final step toward lifelong learning is to find work where you are encouraged to learn new things, and which continually challenges you. 

Remember, develop the habit of learning will lead to lifelong of learning rely on repetition. Engage in these activities as often as possible, making them a part of every single day if you can for optimal success.

No one likes to fail, but everyone fails at some point in their lives. For many people, the fear of failure is paralyzing and stops them from overcoming failure and reaching their goals.

The fear of failure creates negative self-talk that keeps people from learning and growing.

Overcoming the fear of failure is a necessary step in achieving personal goals and being successful. Scientists, psychologists, and business leaders have studied the fear of failure and how people can overcome it.

Overcoming the fear of failure is divided into three areas:

1. Preparing for Fear of Failure
2. Confronting Fear of Failure
3. Recovering from Failure

How a person prepares for and confronts fear determines how well they can overcome it. Recovering from failure helps people overcome fear in future situations.  Scientists have developed specific steps in each area to help people learn to overcome the fear of failure.

Preparing for Fear of Failure

A person must be prepared to face failure to overcome the fear of it. The right mindset minimizes the fear of failure and puts it into perspective.  While the fear of failure is a part of the achievement, overcoming the fear requires understanding what failure is and how to learn from it.

The steps to prepare for fear of failure are:

• Redefine Failure
• Find Benefits from Past Failures
• Understand Threats
• Create Approach, not Avoidance Goals

Redefining failure can change a person’s perception and fear level. Industry leaders in Forbes business magazine suggest that redefining failure as learning opportunities helps overcome fear.

It would not be a failure if a person learned something useful from experience, even if what they discovered was that they didn’t have the right plan to succeed.

Psychologists suggest redefining failure as discrepancies, or simply times when outcomes didn’t meet expectations. When failure is defined in less personal terms or as learning experiences, there is less to fear.

To redefine fear, a person should look to their past failures and consider the benefits they received during those times.  Learning a better way, discovering a new path, and realizing a plan didn’t work all provide benefits to overcoming failure in the future.

When a person uses the information and experiences they gained from previous failures, they have less to fear because they already know what to avoid.

People perceive failure as a threat.  Because failure stops people from reaching their goals, they see it as a threat to their desires.  Scientists at the University of California Berkley concluded that when people perceive a threat, their bodies prepare to fight it.

Physically, a person’s breathing and heart rate increase, and they go into “fight or flight” mode. Preparing to fight is negative stress on a person’s body and mind and can cloud their judgment, increasing their fear.  These scientists suggest that a person should view failure as a challenge, not a threat.  By viewing failure as a challenge, a person can calmly and logically think through the problem and find a way to overcome it, decreasing their fear response.

To redefine a threat as a challenge, a person needs to visualize the obstacles they face.  They need to determine if their fear is based on a real or imagined threat.  People often fear failure because they think of the worst-case scenario, instead of focusing on positive ways to reach their goals and avoid failure.  Facing a challenge holds less fear than facing a threat. 

Once a person has redefined failure, the next step is to create goals that approach success, not avoid failure.  Approach goals focus on positive outcomes:  learning something new, achieving a level of success, or growing to fill a need.

Avoidance goals focus on negative consequences: not freezing up during a presentation, not missing a deadline, or not falling short of a quota. Approach goals provide positive reinforcement while avoidance goals create fear of failure.

Confronting Fear of Failure

When confronting the fear of failure, a person must accept fear as an emotion and move past it.

The steps to moving forward instead of letting fear stop a person include:

• Let the Fear of Failure Pass
• Change Goals as the Situation Develops
• Build Confidence

Fear is a human emotion. Everyone feels fear.  Business leaders describe feeling the fear of failure when they started, but they acknowledged that fear and kept trying.

If a person’s goals are powerful enough, they can confront their fear of failure with a definite plan. When the desire for success is greater than the fear of failure, definite goals help a person overcome the fear.

People are often paralyzed by fear of failure when their plan isn’t working. They may start strong but begin to fear failure during a complicated process.  Psychologists suggest changing the goals in these situations.

Redefining failure by adjusting the goals limits fear. When forces beyond a person’s control block the path to success, a more limited goal can help a person to still achieve some success without fearing a complete failure. 

During the process of carrying out a plan, a person also needs to build their confidence.  Leaders at the Harvard Business Review suggest focusing on what a person learns along the way to build confidence for the next step in the process.

The fear of failure decreases when a person has confidence in their prior decisions and achievements. By reminding themselves of what they have already done, a person takes the next step to overcoming failure.

Recovering from Failure

Even with the best intentions, any plan can lead to failure. Many successful people have failed multiple times.  When a person does fail, they need to recover positively from the experience.

The steps to recovering from failure include:

• Treating Yourself Kindly
• Accepting Mistakes
• Learning from the Experience

People often berate themselves more harshly for failure then they would another person.  Here again, the scientists at the University of California Berkley point out that treating yourself kindly after failure helps stop a person from fearing failure in the future.

If a person makes the repercussions of failure too hard on themselves, they may develop a negative self-image or negative self-talk that causes them to fear the next challenge.

A person also needs to accept their mistakes when they fail.  Without admitting responsibility, they will repeat their mistakes over and over, limiting their success and developing a greater fear of failure each time they face a challenge.  Overcoming failure includes preparing for the next challenge by accepting mistakes and correcting them.

If a person views failure as a learning experience, there is more to gain from failure and less to fear.  Educators teach students that failure isn’t the end of learning.  Instead, failure is the beginning of success.

Recovering from failure involves learning from the experience, so a person is better prepared to succeed when facing another challenge. Fear of failure is often fear of an unknown outcome.  Learning from failure removes that fear because a person knows what does lead to failure and can make another choice instead.

Final Thoughts

Scientists understand that overcoming the fear of failure is based on human emotion and perception.

Overcoming the fear of failure involves defining failure more positively and using skills and abilities to confront it. When a person does fail, they can improve their outlook and limit fear by using failure as a learning experience. Overcoming failure can be accomplished by taking these steps.

Who are you? Have you ever asked yourself this question? Most probably you have not. Such a question would have seemed absurd because you took your identity so much for granted. Had anyone else put the question you would have said: "I am John Smith. I live at such an address. I am so many years old. I am the son of Henry Smith. I am in such a business." And you might add that you were a member of the right church and the right political party.

Well, these statements are correct enough, as far as they go, as a description of the picture you are projecting at the present time: but--- and here is the rub---it is only a picture. It is all just a dramatization of your sincere beliefs about yourself. It is not the real you. It is but a passing unstable symbol of your current mental attitude: nothing more.

The real you is a spiritual being, perfect and eternal and incorruptible. The real you is the living expression of God Himself, expressing potentially every quality of God. "In His own image and likeness."

What is man? He is part of God's self-expression. God sings a song, and that song is man. A song, as you know, expresses the whole nature of the singer. The whole body and his whole mind. If the singer should be sick or tired or angry, these things would appear in the song. If his heart is filled with joy and beauty and Divine Love, these things, too, are expressed in the song. Man is the song of the Divine Singer, and celestial harmony is his nature.

Why does God sing a song? For sheer joy; not for any ulterior object, or for any sort of gain or advantage. God expresses Himself for the pure joy of living--- because He is God.

This is the Real or Absolute Truth, but it is our task to demonstrate it, to bring it into practical reality; to change the limited picture that we see into the glorious Truth that we know. We do this only by letting God do it through us.

"I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High." *

* Psalm 82:6; John 10:34.

This writing is from Emmet Fox's book; Make Your Life Worthwhile. 

The first thing I took notice to, was the different words that were capitalized. God Himself, His own image, Divine Love, Divine Singer, Himself, because He is God, Real or Absolute Truth, glorious Truth, the most High. Any word that is a direct description of God out of respect for God we capitalize the word. 

• When I think about God do I capitalize the words I use to describe God? 
• Do I see Capital letters in my actions that show God's nature to others? Or do I use a baseball bat and protray myself as sinful?
• Do I see myself as being created "in His own image"? Or a defective, flawed product?

What were your observations or questions you asked yourself as you read "The Song of God"? Post them in the comments below.

Medical experts call it the ‘disease of our time.’ It’s not just for children anymore. Everyone suffers from it. What used to be something you temporarily went through until your lecture was over or it’s finally your turn at the doctor’s office has now become a disease. That’s how serious it is.

Maybe the main reason why boredom is now a chronic disease is due to the endless array of stimuli that bombard your every waking moment, making it difficult to concentrate on any given topic. We’ve been programmed that we wake up and expect to have information thrown at us, and we know we’re supposed to sit there and take it. We’ve stopped interacting and engaging. Consequently, we get bored.

Boredom is annoying and frustrating. And it may even get to the point when you feel like you’re slowly suffocating. As defined by the German psychologist, Theodor Lipps, boredom “is a feeling of unpleasant arising out of a conflict between a need for intense mental activity and lack of incitement to it, or inability to be incited.”

This can mean different things to different people. An introvert, for example, would find pleasure between the pages of a book or any other type of solitary activity. On the other hand, an extrovert may seek more thrilling activities as well as more social encounters.

But no matter what your personality type is, there’s a direct correlation between boredom and self-awareness. When you have a clear idea of your strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and beliefs, and are comfortable in your skin, you are better prepared with the tools required to make yourself less bored. You can gauge your moods and feelings, and understand what it is you want out of life. It also better prepares you to deal with others, and respond accordingly.

But having a clear understanding of your personality can be a real problem in this day and age with the world at our fingertips 24/7. The idea that we turn off the noise for a few seconds to ourselves, to close our eyes and be at peace, is now a foreign concept.

No one wants to sit there and do nothing! That’s why full-grown adults are transfixed on playing games or browsing through their social media every free millisecond. Downtime can be scary.

But it’s in those moments where we really feel our presence, tune in to our thoughts, and get in touch with our feelings. It’s also when we are at our most imaginative and creative. It’s how we evolve, discover, and invent.

Suffering from chronic boredom can make it easy to fall into a rut of negative habits, resulting in powerlessness to finish tasks, puts a damper on the quality of your life, and exacerbates physical pain. It comes with a slew of negative ramifications, the 5 most common are:

·         Obesity

If you find yourself continually snacking even though you’re not hungry, then the culprit is probably boredom. Eating, especially foods high in processed fats and sugars, makes you feel calmer and happier. Dieticians refer to this as emotional eating, which is often brought on by boredom.

·         Depression

Boredom can be a symptom of depression, and it can also trigger it. Working long hours, having a stressful work or home environment, or working dull, unchallenging jobs can all boost stress and result in deep bouts of depression.

·         Stress and anxiety

Living day to day in an environment that doesn’t give you what need can be emotionally exhausting. Load on top of that work responsibilities and financial strain, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for chronic stress triggered by boredom and redundancy.

·         Alcohol and drug abuse

In an attempt to break through the boredom spells, it’s common to find people reaching for alcohol and drugs. They’re known for their addictive nature, but at the moment, all people see is how they allow them to forget the aggravating effects boredom has on their lives.

·         Heart disease

When boredom strikes regularly, your brain releases toxic hormones into your bloodstream. These hormones create problems for your heart. Moreover, those who suffer from chronic boredom tend to skimp out on exercising and eating right. In fact, they’re more likely to turn to bad habits, like smoking and drinking - all of which can take its toll on the cardiovascular system, resulting in premature death.

A great way to break the boredom cycle is to step back and look at the big picture. Make lists of all the good in your life, as well as all the things you’ve wanted to do but never take the first step and start from there.

Take control of your life and try to work your way around the things you cannot change. Form new, healthier habits. Try something different each day. Volunteer your time to helping others who are in need. And, most importantly, find something that piques your interest.