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It’s unfortunate, but stress is a fact of life. Any time you are in a situation where you must deal with other people or with the environment and you can’t control the outcome, the potential for stress is there.

The effects of stress on the body can not be underestimated. It has been linked to several life-changing illnesses — heart disease and diabetes are just two that come to mind.

The problem with stress is that there are times we may find ourselves in a stressful situation without realizing it. Our bodies know it, though, and it can produce unwanted effects if we don’t take steps to deal with it.

The rest of this article deals with four major types of stress that we can find ourselves subjected to on a daily basis.

Survival Stress

Survival stress comes into play when we are faced with physical danger, whether it’s real or perceived. This could come in the form of an attack from another person or a sudden change in your surroundings. Think about how you react when a dog barks at you from the other side of a fence. Even though you know he can’t get at you, just the thought that he might get through that fence is enough to cause a reaction in your body. This is the type of stress that produces the common “fight or flight” response that determines whether we run from the danger or stand and face it.

Mental Stress

One of the most common types of stress we face daily is our own mental stress. This type of stress is caused by worrying about things we have no control over. Internal stress exists in our own minds and this makes it very dangerous to our overall well-being. Since our thoughts create our reality, by worrying about things before they happen we can easily find ourselves in the middle of the very situation we were trying to avoid.

Work-Related Stress

Work-related stress is another type of stress that can play havoc with our well-being. It’s just as dangerous as mental stress because it can build slowly over time. When you work too much, whether by choice or because it’s a requirement of the job, your body will eventually rebel.

Environmental Stress

Environmental stress is a result of changes in your environment and is the easiest type of stress to deal with. Examples of environmental stress are loud noises, big crowds, and pollution. When it comes right down to it, just about everything associated with urban living has the potential to cause environmental stress.

Avoiding Stress

The easiest way to deal with any type of stress is to identify its cause and then set out to either change the situation or avoid it entirely. If avoiding the cause of your stress is not an option, there are several alternative ways to deal with it that we will focus on in future articles.

In the meantime, you can get some great ideas on how to relieve your stress with our free guide: 50 Simple Stress Relief Strategies available from TheAcornStash.com

If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to get a good workout in tough economic times, it’s your money management skills. The ability to manage your financial situation could be the difference between success and failure when it comes to navigating the waters of the recession and its aftermath.

If you find your money management skills in need of some dusting off, here are five things you can do to polish them up again…

1. Track your spending habits. If you can track all of your expenses for one week, you’ll get a good idea of where your money is going and whether what you’re spending it on is necessary or not. Knowing this gives you a better frame of reference from which to make spending changes.

2. Know the difference between what you need and what you want. Sounds simple, but in reality the lines can get pretty blurry sometimes. When you’re in a place where cutting back is not an option, ruthlessly divide your expenses into two lists — needs and wants — and then pare down as much as you can from the “want” list.

3. Set an allowance for yourself. Not allowing for any spending is the same as telling a dieter they can’t have any chocolate — the more you deny yourself the harder it is to stick to the plan. Better to give yourself a small spending limit each month, than to close the door completely.

4. Think about where your savings are. Make sure you have a savings account that’s accessible for unexpected expenses. While it’s great to have your money locked away in long-term savings plans for retirement or the kids’ college funds, they’re not the place to go for emergency funds when the car breaks down or the hot water heater blows up.

5. Set goals, but make sure they’re realistic ones. There’s nothing more discouraging than planning wholesale changes that you can’t keep up with. It’s much better to make changes in baby steps and give yourself time to get used to your new way of life.

The process for making financial changes is essentially the same as for making any other type of lifestyle change. The willingness to make the change is half the battle. But once you’re willing, using these ideas for improving your money management skills will help ensure smooth sailing for your financial future.

Everyone deserves to have a peaceful home. There’s nothing worse than wanting to relax and de-stress when you get home from a hard day at work or school, only to find that your home is a hotbed of family stress.

Fortunately there are things that can be done to remedy this. Put these five stress-relieving strategies into action and you’ll not only be a wiz at coping with stress at home, you’ll also find that peace and quiet you’ve been missing.

1. Nobody’s Perfect, Part I

If you think your home will always be stress-free, think again! No one is perfect and we are often guilty of having unrealistic expectations that everyone in our family should be. Whenever more than one person is sharing a closed-in space there are bound to be conflicts and tension at least some of the time. Remembering this and being prepared for it will go a long way to reducing your stress levels.

2. Nobody’s Perfect, Part II

So now that we’ve covered the fact that no one else is your family is perfect, it’s time to remind you that you’re not either. And you shouldn’t be afraid to admit it. Or to admit when you’re wrong.

Holding out when you know you’ve made a mistake will create feelings of resentment in the rest of your family. Admitting, and apologizing for your wrongdoing not only lessens the stressful energy in your home, it’s also a good lesson for your kids to learn at a young age.

3. Talk To Each Other

One of the simplest ways of coping with stress at home is to actually spend time together and talk to each other. With everyone having such busy lives these days, it’s too easy to become disconnected from what’s happening in each other’s lives.

A great way to connect is to share a meal together. Actually sitting down at the dinner table together is a great way to reconnect with each other. Talking and sharing the highlights of your day is a much nicer way of coping with stress than parking your butt in front of the television, or grabbing a bite as you run out the door.

4. Ditch the Superman Complex

Ever hear that saying, ‘the more I do, the more there is to do?’ It’s true. And trying to do and be everything for everyone in your family will earn you a one-way ticket to a heart attack.

Allow yourself to be human instead of placing unreasonable expectations on yourself and you’ll be on your way to lowering your stress levels. And since stressful energy begets more stressful energy, it only stands to reason that by lowering your own stress levels, you’ll also lower those of everyone around you at the same time.

5. Be Nice!

We shouldn’t have to be reminded to treat our family members with love, kindness, and respect… but we do. The golden rule of treat others as you want to be treated applies to those you love most as well as it does to strangers.

Sharing love and positive energy is so much easier than sending out negative stressful energy. Being nice to the people you share your space with most intimately is one of the best ways you can reduce family stress. It’ll make you, and them, feel better too!

As you can see from these tips, coping with stress at home doesn’t have to be rocket science. Taking action and putting these tips into practice will go a long way to reducing family stress and giving you the peaceful home you deserve.

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It’s one thing to be a goal setter. It’s easy to decide on a goal and write it down on a piece of paper that will eventually find its way to the bottom of the pile. It’s quite another thing to have the persistence to nurture and care for your goal until you reach it.

All goal tenders start out as goal setters. You have to be able to set a realistic and achievable goal for yourself to start the process. It’s okay to stretch your boundaries and move out of your comfort zone a little, but creating unrealistic expectations for yourself is only setting yourself up for a stressful time ahead.

Goal setters also need to be good planners. Along with the end result, you have to have some ideas of the steps you will take to get there. You don’t have to know all the details when you start, but you should have enough to get you on the path. If you’re waiting for divine inspiration to tell you what to do, don’t. It usually strikes when you’re in the middle of doing something already. A good goal setting plan should also account for pitfalls, distractions, and detours. And always have a plan “B” to fall back on.

Once the goal setting job is over and you have an end result to achieve and a plan to get there, what happens next?

This is where many people will stop. They get lulled into thinking that the planning process is the whole process and that once the plans are laid, that’s all there is to it. Somewhere in there they forget that the planning is only the beginning and that achievement required action. The goal setter who stops here is like the gardener who plants his seeds but doesn’t water them or clear away the weeds and then wonders why nothing is growing.

The goal tender, on the other hand, is just getting warmed up. Armed with a goal, a plan and the positive attitude that nothing is going to stand in the way of success, the goal tender is ready to care for the dream until it becomes a reality.

Being a goal tender means that no matter what happens, you won’t give up on your goals. Think of a goal tender on a sports team. Their goal is to keep the negative energy (ie. the other team) from penetrating their scoring area so that their team has the best chance at success. In that same way you, as the keeper or tender of your goals, must keep the obstacles out of the way to give yourself the best chance of achieving your goals.

Part of being a goal tender requires being flexible. Sometimes you may have to change direction and revamp your plans along the way. And sometimes, no matter what you do, your best laid plans will fail. At that point you may need to reassess the end result and see if your goal is achievable in its original form.

The nice thing about goals is that they are living things and are not set in stone. Nurturing them and allowing them to grow organically will give you the best results. As a goal tender your job is to care for them and give them the love and room they need to grow.

So which are you — a goal setter or a goal tender?

It’s no secret that thinking positive thoughts makes you feel much happier than thinking negative thoughts. It’s hard to feel happy when you are busy worrying about things and dwelling on the worst that can happen instead of the best, especially if the outcome is something you have no control over. Fortunately you do have control over how you think, and you can teach yourself how to think positively. One of the best ways to start on the path to thinking happy thoughts is by using positive daily affirmations.

You may think that affirmations are nothing but a bunch of new-age mumbo jumbo (that would be your negative voice talking) but they do work. I won’t lie to you and tell you that I understand the physics behind it all, but I will tell you from my own personal experience that saying positive affirmations to yourself every day does put you in a happier state of mind than if you don’t say them.

You can use positive daily affirmations to help lift your spirits when you’re feeling down. You might be having the worst day of your life, but if you tell yourself you are happy, or calm, or peaceful enough times, you will eventually start to feel that way.

Another way that using positive affirmations can make you feel happier is by boosting your self esteem. Something as simple as “I feel great” will help you to feel more positive and confident about your abilities. Much of our negative thinking comes from a lack of self confidence, but let me tell you, it’s really hard to feel negative about anything when you’re walking down the street telling yourself “I feel great.” Try it — you’ll find that it can put a smile on your face and a spring in your step.

As you get into the habit of saying daily positive affirmations you will also find yourself remembering dreams and desires from your past. Life has gotten in the way of dreams for many people, and it’s easy to feel stressed and angry at the thought of what might have been. Keeping positive and focusing on the good things that are in your life now with an affirmation like “My life is perfect just the way it is” can help to banish the anger and negative energy so that you can remember how happy your dreams make you feel.

Feeling happier on the inside makes you appear happier on the outside too. As you grow into your rediscovered happiness you will find yourself more at ease in your own skin. This makes you feel more at ease around other people too. And when you’re not so worried that the sky is going to land on your head any minute now, you’ll find it easier to be kind and considerate to the people you come into contact with every day.

Used regularly, positive daily affirmations can, and will, work to give you a happier state of mind, but only if you put them to work for you. Try one of the affirmations suggested here, and see if it doesn’t. Go on… I dare you!

Ever wonder why so many people have a hard time losing weight? They do all the right exercises and eat all the right foods, and still only manage to take of a pound or two before giving up and grabbing the nearest pack of twinkies. Would you be surprised to know that how you think about your weight loss goals plays just as an important role as what you do to achieve them?

Positive thinking has been getting a bad rap lately. So many people fell into the trap of thinking about things and not doing anything about them that many coaches and self-proclaimed gurus spend their days telling anyone who will listen to just take action. “You must take action! Just thinking about it won’t get you the results you want,” is the refrain of the day and while that’s true, it’s certainly not the whole truth. Action with thought is a much better way to achieve your goals than just taking action without putting any thought into them. Even better, action coupled with the proper mindset will allow you to envision your end results and know exactly what to do to get there.

Thinking about your weight loss plan and how you will look at the end of it will allow you to take the right actions and stay motivated when the going gets rough. Ask yourself this: Who will have a better chance at completing a successful weight loss program? The person who approaches every session thinking it will get them one day closer to their goal; or, the person who grumbles on the bike every morning wondering why they even bother since they’ll never lose the weight anyway.

Can you see from that basic example how important the effect of mindset is on the outcome?

Developing a healthy mindset should be your first goal in any weight loss plan. It’s not as hard as it might seem at first glance.

Here are three tips you can use to create your own healthy weight loss mindset…

1. Take responsibility for your choices where your health and weight are concerned. Don’t become dependent on outside factors such as the “magic” diet or supplement that will make the pounds melt away. (They don’t exist.) Making fully informed lifestyle changes is the only way to achieve lasting results. A diet will get you started on the right path, but owning the choice to lose weight is what will keep the weight off long after you’ve grown bored of the diet itself.

2. Pay attention to your eating and other lifestyle habits before you started on your weight loss journey. It’s easy to say you are going on a diet and picking one to follow. It’s not so easy to see what you did to get yourself to the point of needing to diet in the first place. Most weight gain and unhealthy habits have underlying emotional or psychological triggers. By paying attention to and understanding the reasons why you made those choices in the first place, you will make it easier to know how to make lasting positive changes. Learn from your past choices, but don’t allow yourself to repeat them.

3. Finally, be positive in your thinking. (You knew that was coming, didn’t you?) Make the choice to be successful and stick to it. Focus only on seeing yourself as you want to look and feel at the end of your weight loss program. Thinking positive thoughts keeps you motivated and makes it much easier to banish any negative thoughts as they arise.

Putting these three tips into action will help you to establish as positive weight loss mindset. Your journey to success will go much more smoothly if your mind is positive that your body is doing the right things.

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