How to Age Without Getting Old by Joyce Meyer

Author:Joyce Meyer
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 2021-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

THE STRESS VIRUS

Excessive stress has become like a virus afflicting almost everyone. For many people, living under intense pressure is their new normal. Just think, for example, about social media and the many interruptions it brings into our lives daily. The dings and beeps of electronic devices have started to control us. I often have my phone in my purse, and I am amazed how many times it beeps, no matter what I am doing. When I hear it, I feel the need to find out who wants me and what they have to say. While technology has given us quick access to almost anyone and anything, and it definitely has its good qualities, it has also added a lot of stress to most people’s lives.

We really shouldn’t blame social media and our cell phones for the stress we experience because we are available almost all the time. Managing our availability is our responsibility. Cell phones and devices don’t control us; we control them. We must manage them in ways that help us, not in ways that add stress to our lives. Becoming accustomed to instant availability has made us more impatient than ever. I strongly urge you to enjoy modern technology as long as it is truly adding to your life and not stealing it or causing you unnecessary stress.

Dave answers emails when he feels like responding to them, so if you email him, you might not get an answer for two weeks. He handles text messages and even answering his phone the same way. All of these methods of communication offer him benefits, but he does not let them control him. Sometimes his way of dealing with them annoys me if I am the one trying to contact him, but I have seen that managing communications as he does keeps him peaceful and not stressed.

I remember when, if people were in the car and wanted to make a phone call, they had to find a public pay phone, park the car, get out, and hope they had correct change in order to make the call. I also still remember having a four-way party line on our home phone. Four families shared the same phone line, so having to wait quite a while to gain access to an available line was common. Today we feel stressed if we are driving in an area that does not have adequate cell service and we have to wait just a few minutes until we reach a different service area. Most of us can remember not very long ago when we could not have imagined being stressed over something like that!

Some people seem to feel abnormal if they don’t feel rushed and stressed. I think it is possible for people to become addicted to constant activity and reach the point where they cannot slow down even when they want to.

Let me encourage you: Instead of saying repeatedly to anyone who will listen, “I am so stressed I can hardly stand it,” start doing something about it.

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