Stressful Pondering

Pondering with a Purpose is the weekly blog hop hosted by (and created by) Brenda Youngerman.  Brenda is a writer and her purpose in setting us to pondering is to inspire creativity in us all.  Click on the button over there on the left if you'd like to participate or if you just want to see what everyone has to say on the subject, which I guess I should give you....

This week's prompt:  stress

Stress.  It can mean emphasis placed on something or the force with which a word or syllable is spoken.  In physics it means an applied force that tends to strain or deform a body.  Mentally or emotionally it is a disruptive or disquieting influence.

So, we can stress a point we are making.  We can give a certain meaning to our words simply by the force or emphasis with which we say them.  We can turn coal into diamonds if we apply enough force.  Many of us will wear out our knee joints by the time we reach old age due to repeated strain to the joint.  And virtually all of us will know at some point the mental or emotional stress of a difficult situation.

Too much stress can be a very bad thing, taking a toll on our health.  Not enough and we might not have motivation to move through certain things or appreciation of the good in life.  The trick, then, is to find some kind of balance between being a Type A personality that is wound so tight you vibrate and being a Type B that is so laid back we have to check you for a pulse.

The smart person is going to learn how to use stress.  Use it to motivate and bring about change and also as a warning system to let them know when they've had enough.  Am I good at it?  Sometimes, but there are still certain situations or people that take me from zero to frazzled in....well....a very short period of time.  For times like that we need a diffuser....and no, I'm not talking about one of those scented do-hickies from Glade.  I mean something that can turn us around and stop us from going over the edge.  I like to pray.  Sometimes putting on favorite songs, cranking the volume and singing or dancing along does the trick.  Maybe chocolate does it for you.  Or a good book.  A favorite television show.  Spending time with your kids.  Take a nap.  The point is, do something you like to stop hyper-focusing on what's stressing you.

Well, there you go...my thoughts on "stess" and I didn't even get stressed by it.