Why Are We So Stressed Out?

I don't remember being in school and feeling stressed. I cannot fathom having someone ask me how things were going and the response at any point being that I feel stressed out. Yet my kids have responded that way to me at different times in their life. Of course understanding what the real world is like I laugh at what they see as stress and then I worry if they are going to be able to handle it when real stress hits. I think our society has created a generation that is passing on to our children the need to be anxious about far too much in our lives.

It is easy to see why things seem so stressful. Our jobs continue to be more demanding in the always on, graying of the lines between work and home life world. Turn on any media outlet or your favorite social media destination and there is an onslaught of stories that can't help but make you sick to your stomach over what is going on in the world. We talk about stress and portray to our kids that it is normal to be stressed.

I read a good nugget recently about worrying being a waste of time. If you can take action, there is no need to worry, you just need to take action. If there is nothing you can do about it there is no need to worry because you can't change anything anyway. Whining and complaining don't do any good on their own. There needs to be action.

The other thing we can do to reduce stress is to have something better to focus on. I think we all need that activity that we can spend time with almost daily that can have a calming affect on us. What is that activity that soothes your soul when you make time for it? For some it may be fishing, painting, reading, exercise, playing an instrument or any number of other things. I encourage you to find that activity where you do it only for the joy. No deadlines, expectations or stress associated with it. Then encourage others, especially the next generation to find theirs as well.