Spirituality.

Be close to God. Believe in His existence. It will make things a lot easier. The best way to look at life is that you are a child crossing a busy highway holding God’s hands. You are blindfolded and all you can do is hold His hand and walk. If you don’t walk, you won’t progress in life. If you try and ignore God and take everything in your control, you will just be making mistakes and eventually be running scared when you won’t know what to do when faced by an obstacle. In life there is very little that you have to control; your actions. Keep your faith in God. There is nothing more powerful than prayer. You face a challenge, you pray and move forward. The devil loves it when you worry but he shivers in fright when you pray. Keep worry away, leave what’s not in your control to God 

Family

This is equally important if not more as number 1 on this list. Spend quality time with your family. Go and visit your parents from time to time. No matter how much your father in-law hates you, he will still be content to see how much his daughter is happy with you! Take your kids out too. Take them to the beach, to the ice cream parlour. Go to your kid’s soccer game. Be with your daughter during her ballet performance. Spoil your wife with some surprise gifts. Plan and materialise a romantic evening with just her. An evening away from the kids won’t harm anyone. You need to take care of your family. It’s healthier for you as well as your family’s unity if you make them feel loved. Take time out from your busy schedule for them. Your boss won’t stand by you during your tough times but your family will!

Friends.

Again, it will not be the first time you hear this. CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS WISELY. The kind of people you surround yourself with, determines the way you feel to a large extent. If they are whiny, talk only about the problems and you smoke/drink because your friends do, it’s time to change your friends. It’s better to be with friends who make you feel better. It will be even better if they have the same interests as you do. The more time you spend with such friends, the more stress will stay away from you. Don’t be around people who constantly spread negativity.

Yoga

The reason Yoga features higher than exercise on the list is the fact that it’s more efficient and even more importantly, less time consuming. Even taking control of your breathing patterns is a proficient way to keep your mind free of the unwanted tension. Generally, people breathe in short and rapid breaths. Breathing deeply and slowly will calm your body and help keep stress away from your mind as well as your body. Fascinatingly, rapid breathing reduces carbon dioxide levels more than desired and this leads to an increase in mental agitation. Long, slow and deep breaths will help keep the carbon dioxide levels at optimum levels. If you employ this breathing technique, it’s enough to achieve your goal of staying tension free but if you want to take your Yoga to the next level, its better because it will help you keep you agile and is beneficial for your joint health as it will help avoid arthritis and other joint problems.

Exercise

You have heard this a countless number of times to exercise well. Incorporating a good exercise routine in your daily life is very essential to reduce the stress from your mind. You do not need to join a Gym . A good run in the morning will get you the daily requirement of fresh air. Exercise results in better blood circulation and helps reduce body fat too and will help keep obesity at bay. Involving in a good exercise routine will help increase your self-confidence. Physical exercise will help in mood enhancement, and it also activates the brain to release certain neurotransmitters which alleviate both physical as well as mental pain.

Hobby

Everybody has a hobby. It’s something that makes you feel happy and calm. Some people enjoy gardening and the thrill they experience when they see plants flourish and flowers bloom in their gardens. Photography, drawing, painting, scrap booking are some of the prospective hobbies which you can look into if you haven’t found a hobby yet. There are many hobbies such as participating in a book club that leads to a more active social life which is better to have a tension free lifestyle. Apart from reducing stress levels, performing enjoyable activities during your leisure time also has positive health benefits like lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol  levels and a better body mass index to name a few.

Music

Opera, love, religious, rap, jazz, just put the tape of your favourite songs into your music systems and see the stress vanish to the beats of the music. Neuroscientists have proved that listening to your favourite tunes can help you feel better. The songs you are fond of, have the ability to trigger the release of a strong neurochemical called dopamine. It’s actually the release of this strong neurochemical by the brain that causes such effects. Dopamine is a neurochemical which is largely responsible for activating the pleasure centres of your body and addiction. So, even if you do get addicted, music won’t do you any harm.