, whether to seek approval, for fear of a particular consequence, or because we wish to impress. Being yourself is also the first sign of self-love and approval. It means people can accept or reject you, but on YOUR terms, not theirs. The desire to be liked by everyone, or not to upset anyone (both impossible to achieve) encourages us to lie to ourselves.

Being yourself means that wh

With stress causing so many problems in our lives, it needs to be seriously addressed, while bearing in mind that one person's level of stress could be another person's challenge. Stress does not have to be automatic. It is actually allowed by the individual, though modern living weakens one’s resolve and encourages it to happen. For example, many men have affairs outside their relationships simply for the thrill of it. Often to see how long they can keep it going without it being discovered by their spouses. They know the risks of loss if they are found out, but betting on the odds of discovery while they push infidelity to its limits perhaps provides a greater buzz, in spite of the stress involved. A kind of game really, involving all parties, except that only the key player knows the rules. This situation carries constant stress and heightens the enjoyment, but is rather dangerous where one is playing for high stakes, and could lose all, and especially when life seldom conforms exactly to plan.

We need to reduce stress on all fronts to live more fulfilling, healthy lives, and two simple ways of doing this are the following:

l. Be yourself and be true to yourself. If you lie to yourself and others about your own needs and feelings, aspirations and pain, how can you be trusted, or be able to even sort your problems out? How can you live with yourself, either? You will be forever in denial and under the stress of keeping up the pretence. It is a fruitless search for perfection that makes us pretend to be what we are not, whether to seek approval, for fear of a particular consequence, or because we wish to impress. Being yourself is also the first sign of self-love and approval. It means people can accept or reject you, but on YOUR terms, not theirs. The desire to be liked by everyone, or not to upset anyone (both impossible to achieve) encourages us to lie to ourselves.

Being yourself means that wha

ps simply for the thrill of it. Often to see how long they can keep it going without it being discovered by their spouses. They know the risks of loss if they are found out, but betting on the odds of discovery while they push infidelity to its limits perhaps provides a greater buzz, in spite of the stress involved. A kind of game really, involving all parties, except that only the key player knows the rules. This situation carries constant stress and heightens the enjoyment, but is rather dangerous where one is playing for high stakes, and could lose all, and especially when life seldom conforms exactly to plan.

We need to reduce stress on all fronts to live more fulfilling, healthy lives, and two simple ways of doing this are the following:

l. Be yourself and be true to yourself. If you lie to yourself and others about your own needs and feelings, aspirations and pain, how can you be trusted, or be able to even sort your problems out? How can you live with yourself, either? You will be forever in denial and under the stress of keeping up the pretence. It is a fruitless search for perfection that makes us pretend to be what we are not, whether to seek approval, for fear of a particular consequence, or because we wish to impress. Being yourself is also the first sign of self-love and approval. It means people can accept or reject you, but on YOUR terms, not theirs. The desire to be liked by everyone, or not to upset anyone (both impossible to achieve) encourages us to lie to ourselves.

Being yourself means that wh

er knows the rules. This situation carries constant stress and heightens the enjoyment, but is rather dangerous where one is playing for high stakes, and could lose all, and especially when life seldom conforms exactly to plan.

We need to reduce stress on all fronts to live more fulfilling, healthy lives, and two simple ways of doing this are the following:

l. Be yourself and be true to yourself. If you lie to yourself and others about your own needs and feelings, aspirations and pain, how can you be trusted, or be able to even sort your problems out? How can you live with yourself, either? You will be forever in denial and under the stress of keeping up the pretence. It is a fruitless search for perfection that makes us pretend to be what we are not, whether to seek approval, for fear of a particular consequence, or because we wish to impress. Being yourself is also the first sign of self-love and approval. It means people can accept or reject you, but on YOUR terms, not theirs. The desire to be liked by everyone, or not to upset anyone (both impossible to achieve) encourages us to lie to ourselves.

Being yourself means that wh

and be true to yourself. If you lie to yourself and others about your own needs and feelings, aspirations and pain, how can you be trusted, or be able to even sort your problems out? How can you live with yourself, either? You will be forever in denial and under the stress of keeping up the pretence. It is a fruitless search for perfection that makes us pretend to be what we are not, whether to seek approval, for fear of a particular consequence, or because we wish to impress. Being yourself is also the first sign of self-love and approval. It means people can accept or reject you, but on YOUR terms, not theirs. The desire to be liked by everyone, or not to upset anyone (both impossible to achieve) encourages us to lie to ourselves.

Being yourself means that wh

, whether to seek approval, for fear of a particular consequence, or because we wish to impress. Being yourself is also the first sign of self-love and approval. It means people can accept or reject you, but on YOUR terms, not theirs. The desire to be liked by everyone, or not to upset anyone (both impossible to achieve) encourages us to lie to ourselves.

Being yourself means that what others see in you is what they would actually get, which sets the parameters for interaction and increases their comfort level and trust in dealing with you. Secretive people, who carry lots of negative or deceptive thoughts in their head, find it hard to be themselves because they live a life of pretence and dare not relax. They think they will always be judged by others, and, as they are desperately trying to impress, and are likely to be more negative in approach, they dare not reveal how they really feel. However, as many people would find it hard to relate to them, such secrecy and superficiality merely repel others, keeping them friendless or isolated.

Controlled by the Past
2. Notice the early warning signs of stress, especially the agitated thoughts in your head which keeps you awake at night and feeling paranoid. Often stress comes from fear of a given situation, or perceived incompetence relating to a past act, and not from the situation itself. Thus the origin of stress is primarily inside our heads. We spend so much time wondering ‘What if I had...?’ or reliving past mistakes and actions which we cannot alter, or regretting everything we have done, we then lose opportunities to redress the balance and to feel good about ourselves. The past underlines our stress as we are often stuck back there, full of regrets and punishing ourselves. Futile regrets about our behaviour, especially our mistakes, only keep us stuck in a negative past and lower our confidence and esteem, thus reducing positive si