STRESS MANAGEMENT

Long ago Aesop told the wonderful story about the tortoise and the hare. The hare was a speed-merchant who was dismissive of the opposition and got side-tracked on his journey. The tortoise wasn’t built for speed. Indeed, wherever he went he carried his house on his back. But he was single-minded and had learned the art of making haste slowly. That’s why he won the race. He was wise enough to know that:
• If you don’t pace yourself, you will simply burn out.
• You will progress nicely by making haste slowly.
• You may lose the sprint, but you can still win the race.
• The ability to be patient is a sure recipe for success.
• Tranquillity of heart isn’t found in the fastlane.
The bad news is that, no matter what our circumstances, most of us from time to time feel stressed. The pressures of life sometimes get too much for us and we find the load we’re carrying almost too heavy to bear. We understand all too well the famous cry:
"Stop the world, I want to get off!"

In all probability you have already experienced this in your own life. Maybe right now you’re in the middle of the so-called ‘rat race’, with all the hassle and worries of the workplace, of trying to make ends meet. Perhaps you’re unhappy with the way your relationships with family and friends are going. It’s possible that you may be carrying the burden of illness, of unemployment, of being the sole carer of a dependent relative. These are all normal causes of stress.

However, the good news we’d like to share with you is that we can stop the world. We can get off the treadmill and take simple preventive steps to counter the most distressing effects of stress on our lives. The rat race is for rats, not for human beings.

This is something that many people have already learned the hard way. When we started writing our booklet "Stress and How to Deal With It", we discussed it with some friends of ours. One was a Lloyds Name facing the prospect of losing his entire life savings. The other had been made redundant and was learning to cope with life on the dole. They suggested two things. The first was that we explain clearly what a destructive force stress can be. And the second was that we give some practical, down-to-earth ways to help people take charge of their lives. The fact that the booklet has now become an international bestseller indicates that we succeeded in taking their advice to heart.