Will It Kill Me?
Recently, I attended a meeting where I enjoyed a 4-hour presentation about health and wellness from presenter Dan Miller. He said that stress is the number one reason people fail at achieving optimum health. He also taught that stress is self-imposed. It’s something we do to ourselves. It is a choice. He defined stress as “our reaction to outside stimuli.”
He gave several tips on how to reduce stress in our lives. The most interesting and, so far, most helpful for me has been asking a simple question. When you feel like reacting to some outside stimulus, ask yourself the following question, “Will it kill me?” Pretty simple, right?! Since attending this workshop, I have used this technique many times, and it has helped me tremendously. My family can attest to its effectiveness, as well. I used to get angry and stressed about things like:
- A child’s dirty or unorganized room
- A misplaced toy or clothing in the middle of the living room floor
- Receiving the wrong food on my order at a drive-through restaurant
- Getting the bad news about a piece of broken equipment at the mushroom farm
These are some things that used to send me into an emotional tailspin. Of course, it wasn’t just one isolated incident that would affect me; it was a day full of these events accumulating until I would lose my temper. Resolving each of these issues can all be taken care of more quickly with a calmer head.
This simple technique has worked well for me because 99% of things that happen to or around me will not kill me, and that is excellent news!