The 4'A's of Stress Management

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another"

Expand your stress management toolkit by mastering these four strategies for coping with stress: avoid, alter, accept and adapt. When we feel the effects of stress weighing us down, it's like lugging a backpack that's becoming heavier by the minute. According to the Mayo Clinic and American Institute of Stress, there are 4 Strategies to Coping With Stress, those 4 Strategies consist of: avoid, alter, accept and adapt.

Let's dig a little deeper into them:

Avoid
We can avoid certain stresses by protecting your energy, setting boundaries, controlling the things you can control, and determining what urgency vs important.

Protecting Your Energy: Energy is contagious and it is up to you to make sure you do what is necessary to protect your energy. For me, too much news intake is too much for my spirit, so I intake what news I can, turn the channel or leave the room. Protecting the energy you possess is a way of not stressing yourself into something that you cannot control.
Setting boundaries: Also this goes with the statement above if you know you have to deal with a difficult family member or be in the midst of people who you really prefer not to be with giving yourself a time limit. I'm going to attend for 2 hours, then I'll head out: Also, there is nothing wrong with the following statements :

No! I won't be able to make it
Thanks for thinking of me but I won't be able to attend

Controlling the things you can control: Starting with the serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference
Determining what urgency vs important using the time management matrix: This matrix helps you put your responsibilities in perspective and prioritize what's important. Download your free version here.

However, some problems can't be avoided. For those situations, try another technique.

Alter

This stage is about being open, vulnerable and respectful, in an attempt to change your situation for the better.

Be Open: This is about being open with yourself first and working to discover ways to communicate with others what is affecting you and ways to come to a solution.
Be Vulnerable: Vulnerability is such a jewel, this year I have had a focus on vulnerability and it has allowed me to feel free from the mental and emotional weighs that hold me down. It is creating and welcoming safe spaces to be open and honest with oneself and others without judgment or harm.
Be Respectful: If someone is constantly doing something that hurts my feelings I respectfully tell them so. You have to teach people how to treat you, be respectful in your delivery.

Accept

Remember the serenity prayer, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change and courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.
Journal: Get out what you're feeling in a healthy way, journaling is an effective strategy for getting it all out on paper and emptying thoughts or emotions that may be clogging your mind and spirit.
Seek God: Ask God what is it that he is seeking from you in this season. When you get God's perspective and insight, it gives you a sense of peace knowing and accepting his will over your preference
Submit to God: Sometimes we don't have the luxury of altering and avoiding, we must accept what God allows, in acceptance, we are submitting our vision of what we think something should be and giving God the room and permission to work it out for our good. As Romans 8:28(NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose

Adapt

Being adaptable helps you be able to pivot quickly, and sometimes the pivot is perfect for keeping us on our toes and positioning us to stay focused.

Remember Your WHY: In the moments of stress and adaption remember your why, your why is bigger than you and in many cases that is all you have, the promise that God told you. It is important to hold on to your why it becomes the rock that keeps you stable in the midst

How will this help you become the person you need to be in order to fulfill your purpose?
We don't like adapting sometimes but the beauty of adapting is it brings to surface new creativity, new focus and a new identity, which plays a role in your evolution to the person God is molding you to be.

Create Your Mantra: Your mantra helps you keep calm, or recenter. Sometimes adapting is not easy, but centering on the internal helps you adapt and adjust to things on the external. My two mantras are, " I am here to seek and create crowning moments “ and " I aspire to be the woman that wakes up and loves what she does each and every day. Purposeful relationships, spiritually rooted, financially stable, travel often."

TEdra KnoxApril 20, 2020Comment

The 4'A's of Stress Management

Let's dig a little deeper into them:

AvoidWe can avoid certain stresses by protecting your energy, setting boundaries, controlling the things you can control, and determining what urgency vs important.

No! I won't be able to make itThanks for thinking of me but I won't be able to attend

Controlling the things you can control: Starting with the serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference

Determining what urgency vs important using the time management matrix: This matrix helps you put your responsibilities in perspective and prioritize what's important. Download your free version here.

However, some problems can't be avoided. For those situations, try another technique.

Alter

This stage is about being open, vulnerable and respectful, in an attempt to change your situation for the better.

Be Open: This is about being open with yourself first and working to discover ways to communicate with others what is affecting you and ways to come to a solution.

Be Vulnerable: Vulnerability is such a jewel, this year I have had a focus on vulnerability and it has allowed me to feel free from the mental and emotional weighs that hold me down. It is creating and welcoming safe spaces to be open and honest with oneself and others without judgment or harm.

Be Respectful: If someone is constantly doing something that hurts my feelings I respectfully tell them so. You have to teach people how to treat you, be respectful in your delivery.

Accept

Remember the serenity prayer, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change and courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.

Journal: Get out what you're feeling in a healthy way, journaling is an effective strategy for getting it all out on paper and emptying thoughts or emotions that may be clogging your mind and spirit.

Seek God: Ask God what is it that he is seeking from you in this season. When you get God's perspective and insight, it gives you a sense of peace knowing and accepting his will over your preference

Adapt

Being adaptable helps you be able to pivot quickly, and sometimes the pivot is perfect for keeping us on our toes and positioning us to stay focused.

Remember Your WHY: In the moments of stress and adaption remember your why, your why is bigger than you and in many cases that is all you have, the promise that God told you. It is important to hold on to your why it becomes the rock that keeps you stable in the midst

How will this help you become the person you need to be in order to fulfill your purpose? We don't like adapting sometimes but the beauty of adapting is it brings to surface new creativity, new focus and a new identity, which plays a role in your evolution to the person God is molding you to be.

Avoid
We can avoid certain stresses by protecting your energy, setting boundaries, controlling the things you can control, and determining what urgency vs important.

No! I won't be able to make it
Thanks for thinking of me but I won't be able to attend

How will this help you become the person you need to be in order to fulfill your purpose?
We don't like adapting sometimes but the beauty of adapting is it brings to surface new creativity, new focus and a new identity, which plays a role in your evolution to the person God is molding you to be.