I was wondering what topic to write on, so I just asked one of my co-worker for suggestions. Pop came the word ‘stress’. So thanks Anjali Tyagi, this one is for you. Stress has become a common jargon these days. More like a fad. You keep hearing it everywhere and from almost everyone. A kid has stress because of his studies, a teenage is having it because no one is able to understand him/ her, a graduate is having it because he doesn’t know if he will be employed, couples are in stress because they don’t know whether their love will see the light, parents are stressed because they feel their kids are not making right life-work decisions, employers are stressed because they feel their team is not taking the work seriously, the employees are stressed because they think the boss doesn’t take them to be humans and the story goes on. Everyone has their own reasons for their stress. No matter where you go, it is there with you like a constant pal. You just can’t escape it. It has become so customary that a person without stress is not even taken to be normal, if that is not an exaggeration. Is it possible for one to remain stress free then? Well before we get to the answers as to how it is possible, let us get to the root of stress and try comprehending it better.
Great men and Realized Masters have said volumes on stress so that people can understand it better. Sadhguru says, “Stress is not a part of your life. It is not nature of work that you are doing which is causing stress. It is just that you have no control over your systems. That is why you are stressful. You don’t know how to function smoothly within yourself. That is why you are stressful”. What does that mean? It simply means that we have attributed plethora of reasons outside of us causing stress inside of us. It also means that we are not in a position to use our faculties to handle situations in our life. We always stay in an imaginary world and think if such and such things happen, we will be stress free and at peace. The truth however, is such imaginary place stays only in imagination. It has nothing to do with reality which is in taking charge of one’s own systems like mind and intellect and dealing with the situations at hand. Procrastination won’t help. It will only make matters worse. Playing the victim too won’t be of any use. The solution lies in understanding that one is capable of handling any situation be it at workplace or personal life with the instruments that make every human unique; human mind and human intellect. Command them and use them to your own benefit. Currently the reverse is happening. To quote Sadhguru again “You have to make that sink deep into you that you are the source of your misery, you are the source of your Joy, nobody else, nobody else at all, nothing else at all but you.” Take charge! Solution lies in right action.
Diving deeper while looking at stress we need to understand what is it that we are doing in our lives and why? Let’s say if you are in a job that you love then why are you stressful? If you don’t love what you are doing, then you need to figure out what it is that you love doing. No one can and will do that for you. If you give this to be answered by someone else chances are you will again fall into the vicious trap. Buddha says, “Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.” The sooner you find your purpose the better it is for it is not time slipping but it is life that is slipping away constantly. If you love your job and you are still stressful it means you need to have a tight look at your devotion. Work pressure will always be there. Deadlines will always be haunting. But that doesn’t mean that these things must trigger something undesirable like stress which you don’t want in your system. If it is a relationship that is causing stress, then again you have to ask yourself sincere questions as to how you can give your one hundred percent to fix the unfixed. Blame game will not get you anywhere. No situation is worth taking a toll on your mental peace. Spend time with yourself and figure out your things and situations. Figure out your life. Find out what is important and dear to you and keep your passion up for it. For what is love-able in your life can’t be a cause of stress. Inculcate some self-discipline in your life and stay sorted. Sadhguru says, “There are only two types of people: Mystics and Mistakes.” You alone can decide which category you are into. It is a beautiful and precious life not worth creating stress. For all of it is self created.
If you wish to create then why not something wonderful? Go for it!
Om Swami, the Himalayan Mystic, a Realized Master and an author of several bestsellers has thrown light on how to deal with stress at length. Go on and read in detail how you can take charge of your life and how you can better deal with your self-created stress. Here is the link https://os.me/dealing-with-stress/