Tension, Stress, Strain and Anguish – All Are Avoidable

“A common misconception is that it is hard work which generates tension, but work itself is not the real cause. Work, even hard work, when the mind is at rest, is health giving. It produces fatigue but not tension. The fundamental cause of strain is to be found in the mind, not in the body.”[1]

The mind and not the body controls how we deal with and assimilate pressure and stress. The mind and not the body is responsible for how we deal with everything. Physically, we can safely cope with much more than we think--work wise. The mind is the strength behind how we live and cope with the day to day.

According to George Bernard Shaw, life wasn’t meant to be easy, (but it can be a delight). Smile. Can you look into a mirror when the going is tough and smile and laugh? Things could be worse! Look around you. Look at what you have: your senses, your sense of humour, your ability to walk, talk etc. Now, this is making a leaping assumption that you have these things. I would apologise profusely, for instance, if you read this, but could not walk! Or could not talk! Or could not laugh, smell, see, hear, taste or touch!

J. Oswald Sanders tackles this topic, and calls those of us ailing to:

1) Rediscover God--the reason we most need God (for ourselves) is to assuage our complex natures;

2) recognise our self in the mess and the illogical demands we place on ourselves at times;

3) renew the mind: this is simply an about face in attitude. We underestimate the power of the will; and,

4) Make (not find) time to relax and get solitude and quietness: nothing quite refreshes our soul and spirit as just being still, mentally still, and rested.[2]

When we discover the mind is behind all the tricks we jump and react to, we can then finally begin to tackle our attitudes, values and perceptions, transforming them a day at a time from negative fearful ones toward a positive, embracing outlook.

Copyright © 2009, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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ENDNOTES:
[1] J. Oswald Sanders, Problems of Christian Discipleship (London, England: China Inland Mission/Lutherworth Press, 1958), p. 12.
[2] Sanders, Ibid, pp. 15-17. Credit for this fourfold recipe for restoring a healthy mind.