For decades now, we have been overwhelmed and inundated with information that spreads all kinds of fear about what may hurt us, cause us stress, or threaten our wellbeing. However, amidst the noise and chaos driven by the digital age where tidbits of info are constantly presented out of context and where distractions reign supreme, very few of us pause to reflect on what really is our greatest threat. As long as we keep looking “out there” we miss what is happening “in here” — inside each of us, which is where the answers and opportunities reside for personal empowerment that creates good mental and physical health.

Ancient yogic, Buddhist, and similar spiritual teachers have known for millennia that the biggest problem and solution come from the same source — our mind. An untrained, unconscious, scattered, distracted, fear-filled, and ignorant mind is the most dangerous thing within the realm of our existence. Nothing can or will hurt us more than our own mind in such a state. On the other hand, a mind that is awake, aware, focused, and mastered is the most powerful tool with which we can positively create our reality.

This is why the best way we can help ourselves to reduce stress and improve our wellbeing is to put more of our attention inward by learning to use our mind in effective ways. As long as we keep focusing on the external world we will continue to be distracted by its contents, and with ignorant futility attempt to control them. This misdirected control is one of the greatest causes of our stress. There is only one thing we can aim to control in this reality and that is ourselves. The more we master ourselves, the more we come into alignment with physical and mental states of wellbeing. The more we are in charge of our own mind, the less chance there is for something outside of us to hurt us.

The greatest threat to human health is not any bacteria, virus, food, or chemical but mismanaged thoughts and emotions.

Being out of alignment with yourself and life puts you at greatest risk of unease and disease.

Evita Ochel

To provide further guidance for effective stress reduction, I created a video class on how to reduce daily stress and stay healthy, which you can watch freely on YouTube. The solution, as always in such cases, is to look towards consistent action you will take in your life, rather than any attempted “quick fixes” or “magic bullets”. When we regularly make healthy choices and create sustainable healthy patterns in our lives, this is when we get to experience the most benefits and the best outcomes. When we design our lifestyle consciously and then live it with consistency, we reap the benefits of wellbeing in all areas of our health — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

In addition to all that I share in the 1-hour video class (linked above), here are three essential tips, which are necessary for us to apply in order to reduce stress and improve our health:

1. The first step to successfully maintaining your health is to make it your priority. This may seem obvious. However, it is regularly overlooked in the midst of the modern busy, noisy, chaotic, and stressful lifestyle. Making your health a priority means that you prioritize the things that directly create your health, like proper nourishment, hydration, sleep, physical activity, and mental rejuvenation.
   
   
   
2. Secondly, we need to tend properly to the needs of our body and our mind. This automatically makes us more resilient and capable of dealing with any stressors that come our way in more effective and less destructive ways. A healthy lifestyle that nurtures the needs of our body and mind is also a naturally stress-reducing lifestyle by design. The right food, water, sleep, exercise, and relaxation, through things like meditation or time spent in nature, all help to reduce stress in our body and mind.
   
   
   
3. Thirdly, to reduce stress, we also have to take action and create the best circumstances we can in our lives. While we will never be able to control everything in our external reality, we have more control over our circumstances than we realize, based on the choices we make daily.

So rather than settling for or subjecting yourself to stressors that you have control over, reduce your stress by taking action to create effective changes in your thinking patterns and lifestyle habits. This will then allow you to make changes in areas of your life, such as your work, finances, and relationships to reflect a higher state of wellbeing and reduced stress responses.