BE STRESS-FREE
Sister B K Shivani advises us to take charge of eliminating stress from our lives
No matter how well we plan and distribute our workload, our buttons get frequently pressed in our personal as well as professional life. We have come to believe that stress is a normal part of our lives. However, unless we manage our stressors, we can neither remain calm nor give our best.
Consider these situations :
Suppose, we are sitting on a chair and feeling uncomfortable. Do we scold the chair for it? We take responsibility and change our position or the chair.
Suppose our hand gets near a burning candle flame. We don’t blame the flame. We withdraw our hand.
However, when we are stressed, we often do nothing because we believe that this pain is natural. Our deepest belief is, “I am not responsible for my state of mind.People or situations stress me out.” The truth is, our response is 100 per cent our responsibility.
Stress is an emotional pain, which comes to tell us there is something we need to change internally. It is the result of thinking wrong thoughts, which lead to wrong words and behaviours, thereby increasing our pain.
Scientifically, stress is expressed by the formula:
Stress = Pressure divided by Resilience.
The same formula is applicable in our life too.
• Pressure (numerator) = Exams, targets, health, money, time, traffic, weather, boss, spouse, children, etc.
• Resilience (denominator) = Our inner strength to face the pressure, i.e., our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions.
Therefore, STRESS is equal to OUR SITUATIONS divided by OUR INNER STRENGTH.
The numerator is not in our control; however, the denominator is entirely so. Instead of trying to control the stressors, let’s focus on increasing our resilience. Like this, the stress will start reducing naturally.
Following are simple steps to increase your resilience:
Take personal responsibility for your thoughts, words, and actions. Never blame situations, people, or God.
Meditate and study spiritual knowledge to fill your mind with positive thoughts.
Read, listen, and watch only pure and powerful content throughout the day. Withdraw from arguments, conflicts, gossip, and judgments.
Release expectations, and accept people as they are. Advise or discipline them with respect and dignity.
Accept challenging situations, and focus on what you should do next.
Forgive people, and release past hurts. Don’t wait for them to apologise or change.
Don’t compare or compete. Remain happy and be ready to perform more than your capacity.
Practise right eating, drinking, and sleeping.
Use your values in every situation, even if no one else is using them.
Sister Shivani is a teacher at the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University and a senior Rajyoga teacher living in Gurugram. She is known for the popular programme ‘Awakening with Brahma Kumaris’ which started in 2007.