A thought by Zig Zigler, from his book, Better Than Good (p. 34). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)
So give me more.
Zig says, "The thief I see robbing more people of their passion than anything else is stress—stress in all its forms."
He later says, ". . . I used to see on bumper stickers a few years back: 'Life is hard. Then you die.' It’s true—life is full of stress. It takes someone deluded or in denial to believe that it’s not. Therefore, the question is not 'How do we avoid stress-producing situations?' but 'How do we learn to live without succumbing to stress?' And more specifically, in terms of the message of this book, 'How do we keep stress from stealing our passion?'
He goes on, "I read a lengthy article in Reader’s Digest once that documented that 90 percent of all doctor’s visits can be attributed, directly or indirectly, to stress. Stress suppresses the body’s immune system, interrupts your sleep, and makes you vulnerable to all manner of illnesses. You get sick and experience a whole host of other problems related to missing work and the inability to fulfill other responsibilities—and that just leads to more stress. It’s a down-ward cycle that rarely has a happy ending.
"To be fair, let’s say the actual number was only 50 percent instead of 90 percent of illness related to stress. Can you imagine the impact on this nation if half of all doctor’s visits were cancelled as a result of people learning to eliminate stress from their lives? Productivity would skyrocket, money would be saved, people would be happier—the impact would reverberate throughout society like ripples on the surface of a pond.
"I’m not suggesting that all stress is bad. Stress in the form of adrenaline can cause us to flee burning buildings and jump out of the way of oncoming traffic. It can also cause us to work hard to complete a project before a looming deadline. Some stress can be good. But when it is too frequent and meets with no resistance from us, it can destroy us by stealing our passion."
He continues, "At the risk of sounding simplistic, this is something many people overlook. It’s been my experience that most people are so used to living with stress they don’t even know it—they’re unaware of the specific things causing their stress. . . they think a job you hate and unpleasant relationships are just part of life.
"Take worry for instance. Most people spend so much time worrying that it never dawns on them that their worry could be producing stress and stealing their passion. They think worry is as normal as breathing—something you do if you’re alive."
He then says, "The next time you are attacked by stress, identify the source. Many times you will discover you are worrying about something that doesn’t need to be worried about at all. Once you get all the facts, you may be glad you waited."
So will you stop and identify how worry and stress are robbing you of your much needed passion? Will you?
Yes, yes!
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