If you’re a human living in the Western World in the 21st century, you probably wish you had less stress in your life. Most of us are running around with the hope we can get through our day without completely blowing our top or having a heart attack.

Even more, we all know that this go-go-go lifestyle is unhealthy. But it seems impossible to be able to jump off of the busy person merry-go-round. It feels like we either have to escape completely or just throw up our hands and say, “I guess this is just how life works!?!”

Is there a middle ground? Is there a way to still participate in modern life but not feel so frenetic all the time?

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By reevaluating how we choose to engage with the world throughout the day, we can live intentionally. And when we live in alignment with our values, we have less to be stressed about.

Working to lower our daily stress is a way to honor our sense of self and improve our overall wellness. It’s deep, meaningful self-care.

LESS STRESS in THREE SIMPLE STEPS

1. Create a Morning Gratitude Practice

The first simple habit to reduce stress in your day is to establish a first thing in the morning practice. It can be short and simple, but it will set your day up for success.

Mantra is probably the easiest and quickest morning gratitude practice. All you need to do is think of simple phrase that you repeat to yourself as soon as you wake up:

(DEEP BREATH) Thank you for this day. (DEEP BREATH)

Taking 8-10 deep breaths and repeating this positive mantra tunes your brain to gratitude. It also floods your body with life-enriching oxygen. Who wouldn’t want to start the day like that!?

Feeling bold? Try voicing your mantra. That means saying it out loud. Eeeep!

Try this: Wake up, take a deep breath, and shout joyfully: “I’M ALIVE!”

Sure, if you share your bed with someone s/he may think you’re a little wacky at first, but it’s hard to be irritated when someone is truly grateful for life. And this positive mindset from the start of your day keeps your brain from shifting into Immediate Overdrive.

If mantra sounds overly simplistic, there are plenty of other morning practices to bring less stress in your daily life.

• Do you have a best friend you like to text in the morning? Send off a “thinking of you” text. Both of you will benefit from your thoughtfulness!
• Maybe you pray or meditate. Spending even 5 minutes in prayer or meditation fires up your parasympathetic nervous system. That’s the part of your body that keeps you calm.
• Are you a morning person who likes to get up and exercise or dance in the morning? Do you think you could be? A short yoga video can get your day started with beautiful mind-body connection.
• If you like to write, spending a few minutes journaling your thoughts is a wonderful morning practice. Getting yourself in the practice of daily writing feeds your creativity, which is a potent form of self-care.

2. Control the Narrative of Your Thoughts

“Your words become your actions, your actions become your habits.”- Mahatma Ghandi

After starting your day with a morning gratitude practice, the next step for less stress daily is to keep that mindset. You can do this by learning to control the narrative of your thoughts.

What you think translates into what you do and how you feel. Once that idea really sinks in, you’ll be motivated to keep your thoughts positive.

The easiest way to do this is to start with the input your brain receives. Are your daily activities giving your brain positive support or negative thoughts?

Take for example the input of social media. If you are on Facebook or Pinterest and all you see is the shiny, happy, perfect people in your community, of course it can get you down!

When we are bombarded by this visual perfection all the time, our brain starts to think it is normal. It’s not!

But what can you do?

Shut it off! Walk away!

Remember that what you invite in to your life affects your physical body. Think about what your eyes see, your ears hear, and your brain thinks. If you are feeding your brain images of impossibility, you are adding to your daily stress. Don’t be your own worst enemy!

Similarly, are the books you are reading and the television shows you are watching adding positive input? While we can recognize that sometimes a little escapism is what we’re looking for, what genres of books and TV shows do you consume most regularly?

If you find yourself with repetitive habits that are supposed to be relaxing but don’t feel positive for you, limit them or eliminate them. Remember that you have a choice!

The more positive input we can give the brain, the easier it is for the body to stay in a lower stress situation.

3. Recognize the Positive All Day Long

Once we can control the narrative of our thoughts to the positive, it is easier to recognize the positive all around us all day long.

Let’s face it: as humans, we are programmed to be critical and see shortcomings. But having this default setting is part of what contributes to our chronic high stress.

Everyone has those daily annoyances: traffic, meetings that start late, someone asking us to do something we don’t really have time (or interest) in doing. Those things aren’t going to go away.

But, much like choosing the narrative our brain receives, we can choose not to focus on them.

And if we can do this regularly, we can rewire our brains to the positive. How? Our brains get better at noticing the positive and more easily glide over the negatives. And that absolutely can lower daily stress!

Even better, Whatever you do that sets your mind to seek the positive, you keep the stress hormone cortisol at bay. Cortisol flares when the body moves into fight-or-flight mode. So the more you can do to keep yourself out of that frenetic state, the better for your overall health.

For some people, the habit of looking for the positive is best enforced by keeping a gratitude journal. I suggest including it as part of your bedtime wind-down routine.

You can start by noting five simple things that you saw or noticed throughout the day that lifted your spirit or made you smile. With a very little bit of practice, you’ll find that this 5-a-day habit grows quickly into a nearly endless list of daily gratitude.

When you work to find the positive in your life, you lower daily stress. Even better, many people find that it is a habit they can’t contain.

You may soon find yourself texting a friend, co-worker, or teacher a small complement each day. Or you may offer someone a smile that just a few weeks ago would have made you feel vulnerable or awkward. When you put some goodness out into the world– no strings attached—everyone benefits!

And you can do it all without spending a dime! These simple stress solutions will shape a new attitude of gratitude.