Do We Need to De-Stress?

I was reading a magazine lately and found an article quite fascinating and a little irritating all at the same time. My question is, do we need to de-stress? Do we need coping techniques or things to do in order to feel less stress, minimize our stress, or make sense of our stress? 

Here is a quoted part of that article that I want to elaborate on. "In a world inundated with stressors, establishing a mindfulness practice becomes crucial for overall well-being".

What this quote says to me is this, the world is full of things that "cause" us to "feel" stress. And, if that is true, we need to be "doing things" and make that a practice because it is "crucial" for us to feel good.

If you believe the world, your circumstances, this or that, can cause you to feel stress then yes you absolutely need to have practices in order to feel less stress. If you believe you feel your circumstances and you are a victim to life, then yes these practices are very important and you should probably spend lots and lots of time doing and thinking about them in order to get them right for them to be effective.

But, if you believe that you feel your thinking in the moment, and only your thinking in that very moment, you no longer look at the world as "causing" you stress. You no longer need to "do" anything about these "stressors" that everyone believes are out there to get us. You no longer need to manage and control life. You are no longer a victim.

It was so freeing to me to learn that XY&Z were not causing me to be anxious, stressed, scared, worried, etc. When I learned it was only my thoughts in the moment that were causing me those feelings my whole world changed. I no longer walked around stuck in my head and oblivious to life in front of me because I felt like I had to constantly think about all these things I thought were causing those feelings. I no longer have a dumpster fire in my head. I no longer analyze every little thing and think things to death trying to figure it all out and make it all make sense.

But, like always, it's up to you. We were taught to believe the world causes our feelings and we need to have techniques upon techniques in order to be able to manage life. I did that for many years and it was miserable.  

Here's the deal, and last thing for now, giving people a 5 step process, or you will complete this in 2 weeks, or you will feel much better when you devote 20 minutes a day to _______, is what sells and what draws people in. Why do you think self help books sell so many copies every single year? They are all prescriptions, processes, and things to do. We want to feel like we are doing something about our situations and life and we want to show people, hey look at me I did it! Look how far I've come and how much I've done in order to accomplish(fill in the blank).

But, what if it was as simple as understanding where your experience is coming from (your thoughts and not your circumstances)? What if you no longer had to devote time every single day to do those things that you believe bring you the feelings you want and less of the feelings you don't?

Just, well, think about it.

Until next time.

Jackson