Eliminate All Doubts About Your Ability to Stand Up Under Pressure and Stress

Vince Lombardi said “Fear makes cowards of us all.” And the essence of fear is doubt in your ability to stand up to the situation. Because if you had no doubt, you would have no fear. When you are under stress, all your doubts and fears become magnified. Eliminate your doubts and that stress reduces.

Very few stress management programs focus on the doubts you have about handling stress. Sure, they give you some stress techniques (“take deep breaths”), but these don’t hit your inner core to bolster your will to stand up to stress. A good stress management system will develop your will and your discipline. The anxiety help you need will be inside of you.

Here are 5 ways to eliminate doubt in the face of stress:
1. Learn to set goals. For too many people, a goal is really just a dream. A goal requires definition, measurability, and attainability. The goal should be to eliminate the stressor.

2. Learn to say no to distractions. When distractions interrupt, measure them against the goal of eliminating your stress. If the interruption doesn’t assist you in reaching your goal, turn it away and get to it later.

3. Develop detailed plans to attain the goal. Having detailed plans will make it easier for you to stick to the plan, which is reinforcing your discipline. Discipline is a key component of removing doubt, as you have the assurance that you will know what to do and actually do it.

4. Focus on having faith in your ability to accomplish your goals. Not really religious faith, but just that core belief that you can set a goal and achieve a goal.

5. Pretend that you have faith in your ability to accomplish your goals. This is not a question of self-esteem. It is a question of whether you will push through the sticking points. Pretending that you can do this will actually cause you to do it.

Stress is relentless. Stress is impersonal. Stress just pushes and pushes and pushes. Take high blood pressure symptoms, for example. There aren’t any, until the stress pushes your blood pressure over a limit. Then it could be fatal. Since the stress and the high blood pressure are silent, your stress management system needs to handle more than just panic attacks treatment. It needs to handle prevention.

Just having faith and confidence is not enough. You have to have the skills to identify the stressor. The ability to plan how to handle it. The discipline and faith to know you will stand up to it. And the humility to learn from the experience.

Learn the 12 components of a comprehensive stress management system in your free exclusive copy of STRESS JUDO: The Overview. Rick Carter has been a trial attorney for over 15 years, and has studied martial arts for over 24+ years. He combined the principles of judo with the best stress management techniques he had learned inside the courtroom and the arena, to create STRESS JUDO. Also available is the EXCLUSIVE and completely unique STRESS JUDO Black Belt System. Be a Black Belt in attacking and eliminating stress from your life.

Why You Need More Than ONE Stress Management Technique

I saw an article recommending that you pick ONE stress management technique and perfect it.

Seriously?

Will exercise help you when the stressor is your kid turning blue from choking?

Will yoga help you when the stressor is your wife has emptied the bank accounts and taken the kids to Idaho?

Will deep breathing help you when the stressor is the new guy in the office who’s undermining your authority and gunning for your job?

You need a stress management system.  A comprehensive stress management system. 

STRESS JUDO takes you through 6 belts, with 12 techniques.  Ranging from creative problem solving to exercise to deep breathing. 

Go to stress management for 2 FREE reports on stress management.

5 Ways To Handle The Physical Symptoms Of High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, stroke, and death.  You should have your blood pressure checked by a doctor on a regular basis.  If the doctor prescribes medication, you should take it as prescribed.  The main reason for having your blood pressure checked by a doctor is that there are very few physical symptoms of high blood pressure. And the ones you do see are often confused with other causes.

Some of these symptoms are: headache, dizziness, blurred vision, drowsiness, and nausea.  All of these can be explained by some other cause.  Sometimes people are under stress so long that they can’t distinguish the bad health effects of stress  anymore.  Which means that the high blood pressure is left untreated, and ti gets worse.  And stress elevates blood pressure.  But you can use aggressive stress management techniques to handle the stress, and lower your blood pressure.

Here are 5 ways to aggressively attack stress to lower your blood pressure:

1. Use creative problem solving to handle stress better.  The natural reaction to stress is “fight or flight.”  You can creatively come up with more solutions.
2. Use meditation appropriately.  Meditating can relieve some of the inner effects of stress and make you feel better. But it does nothing to eliminate the stress.  Use meditation to not only calm yourself down, but open your mind to creative possibilities.
3. Develop your own stress management process.  Any stress management system that you learn was developed by someone else for someone else’s problems.  Take the techniques that work from each system and create your own.
4. Stay in shape.  Stress weakens the various systems of your body, which gives you less energy to fight the stress.  By staying in shape, you can fight the stress, not just tolerate it.
5. Use an effective time management system.  Stress from impossible deadlines is bad.  Stress from interruptions is worse. But having a time management system that not only permits, but demands, that you reject time-wasting interruptions, can relieve much stress in your life.

If you don’t do handle stress, your high blood pressure will get worse.  But knowing what to do to relieve stress can help lower your blood pressure.  With the lower blood pressure, you can reduce the chances of heart attack or stroke.  Of course, there are other causes of those conditions that also must be looked at.  But removing stress as a cause can focus your efforts.

Handling stress involves internally handling your reactions, but also externally eliminating the stressor.   Using this dual approach might be the most effective way to reduce or eliminate the signs symptoms of panic attacks and lower your blood pressure.  Probably meditation or visualization is part of what you are doing to relieve stress.  But this is not enough.  That’s like helping a quarterback learn not to feel bad when he throws an interception.  Wouldn’t it be better to teach the quarterback to simply not throw interceptions?  Using a comprehensive stress management system will eliminate the stress and give you lower blood pressure.

STRESS JUDO – the comprehensive stress management system

Pain And Stress Reduction

If you want to learn about Stress management then read this article all the way to the end. Specifically, I’ll cover Pain and stress reduction. Stress reduction techniques must be part of a plan. Pain from stress is your body breaking down. After you’re done with this article you should be able to understand why using a comprehensive stress management system is necessary.

Pain and stress reduction is vital to stress management, because Stress management couldn’t even survive without pain and stress reduction. Eliminating stress by eliminating the stressor relates to this because the stressor is actually you stretching your limits. Both eliminate stress by eliminating the stressor and realizing that the stressor is actually you stretching your limits. And that brings us to how stress reduction techniques must be part of a plan.

Stress reduction techniques must be part of a plan vital to stress management. Reducing your inner reaction does nothing to reduce the stressor because stressful situations usually have an opportunity to grow. Reducing your inner reaction does nothing to reduce the stressor because the stressful situation, being an opportunity to grow, are very often external to you. Which is why understanding that the pain from stress is your body breaking down is vital to stress management.

Reducing the pain from stress breaking your body down is a huge part of getting a comprehensive stress management system that works for you. Because using a comprehensive stress management system is necessary to increase your ability to resist the force of stress on your body. Both increasing your ability to resist and reducing the force of stress are important. Conclusion: Stress management is straightforward to understand. You should always keep an eye out for pain and stress reduction, and stress reduction techniques must be part of a plan. That pain from stress is your body breaking down. So now get out there and start using a comprehensive stress management system.

For more information on a complete comprehensive stress management system, click on pain and stress reduction.

What Causes High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure can be caused by many things.  You can inherit it – or a tendency toward high blood pressure.  It can be caused by cardiovascular disease or certain medications.  It can be caused by stress.  That’ s the focus of this article.  Stress-related high blood pressure and how to reduce the stress, using STRESS JUDO.

There are as many stress management techniques as there are human beings on earth.  Some people like deep breathing and meditation.  Others prefer taking action straight at the stressor.  Still others prefer to avoid the stressor.  STRESS JUDO, our program, teaches you to do all 3 – and 9 other components – to defend against the bad health effects of stress, to attck the stressor,  and to evaluate how efective your performance was.

One neat aspect of STRESS JUDO is that you don’t have to get all hung up on the definition of stress or on the signs of stress ofr any of that.  If you feel stress, you will know instantly what part of STRESS JUDO to begin with

STRESS JUDO begins with creative problem solving, so you have the tools the attack the stressor.  You next move to time management (to be able to plan and manage your strategy of stress elimination), creative thinking, and self examination.  By now you can analyze a stressor, develop a plan to attack, creatively think of possibvilities and ramifications, and can look at yoiurself and the situation to judge whether what you are doing is correct.

The next levels – or belts – of STRESS JUDO strengthen your inner will and self-discipine, coaching, and staying fit and the proper use of meditation.  You finish at the Black Belt level, which teaches you to access energy at anytime necessary, and how to develop your own stress management system.

By combining and practicing these techniques, there is a possibility that you can reduce high blood pressure due to extrernal forces.  STRESS JUDO also changes yor outlook on life.  People are no longer assumed to be adversaries. Work is not presumed to be your own private hell.  STRESS JUDO will give you confidence to handle life’s toughest stress situations.

Get your FREE reports on the 12 components of a complete stress management system. There is also a report on how stress damages your performance.

You’re An Idiot And Your Dog Hates You

Most stress management systems make it sound so easy to get rid of stress.  “Relax!” they say.  “Meditate” or “breathe deep.”  Or my favorite: “find a nice place to escape to.”  Now, this is why I say you’re an idiot – if you buy this.  What if your heart surgeon or lawyer used THIS stress management system?  The lights go out in the operating room.  Do you want your doctor to breathe deep and think about some tropical island? Or do you want your doctor to handle the situation calmly?  Do you want your lawyer to throw his or her hands up and go to the beach when the other attorney starts a blistering cross examination?  Or do you want your lawyer focused on what’s happening, modifying your strategy and surviving the cross examination to ultimately win the case?

 

STRESS JUDO has meditation as a component.  It has deep breathing as a component.  But it also has goal setting and time management, creative problem solving, and self examination as components. Because proper stress management means dealing with:

1. The stressor.  Develop creative problem solving and take control of your time.
2. Your internal weapons: Develop creative thinking and self examination.
3. Your will. Develop your will and spirit, and learn how to set goals.
4. Your mastery.  Coach others and develop your own stress management system.
5. Your stamina. Get physically fit and learn meditation.
6. Your domination. Learn to tap energy as needed, and develop daily practice.

 

These 6 steps, broken down into 12 components, combine the best features of single-component stress management systems, into a comprehensive stress management system.  Meditation is necessary for stress management, just like a quarterback is necessary fir a football team to succeed.  But it is not stress management any more than the quarterback is the football team.

 

By developing and using each component, your ability to identify and destroy stressors in your life is vastly improved.  You gradually turn stressful situations into opportunities for growth and improvement.  Fear of stress is replaced by excited anticipation of the next challenge.

So why the title?  Because stress management systems that teach you 1 or 2 techniques basically think you are an idiot for believing that they will handle all the stress in your life.  You know stress comes in different forms.  Stress from deadlines requires a different response than the stress of facing muggers in a dark alley.  Stress from getting a bad medical diagnosis is not handled by meditating on it.  Stress from facing your best rival in an athletic competition is not handled by only deep breathing.

 

And the dog part?  Well, if you spend all your time meditating, breathing deeply, and taking trips to exotic locations, your dog WILL hate you.

 

So learn to turn stress on itself and pull and opportunity out of it.  You’ll be happier. You won’t be an idiot.  And your dog will love you.

Click HERE for 2 Free reports on stress management and the bad effects of stress on your health.

4 Steps To Get Rid of Procrastination, Now!

Do you put off your work for later, only to find your deadlines steadily creeping in? Then you, my friend, are one of the millions of people afflicted by the procrastination virus. Procrastination is the biggest reason for loss of productivity and late output. Though many would not admit it, they would benefit greatly if they start their work on time.

For many people, putting off their work for later is more habit than desire. It can be so hard to get into a groove where starting your tasks in a timely fashion is a priority, especially if the consequences for being late are things that one can probably bear.

If you are one of these people, yet you desire to shake off your propensity for procrastination, then you have come to the right place. Here are a few tips to help you overcome this dilemma and become a more productive and reliable person.

1. Set schedules – It is very important that you have a list of activities to accomplish per day. This will help you realistically budget your time and resources. One of the cardinal sins people commit in regards to performing their tasks is to put off their work because they feel like there is so much time left. A journal, organizer, or calendar of events will help you plan and schedule your task so that you can start them promptly and finish them on time.

2. Save the Vacation for Later – Many people put their work off for later saying, “I’ll just have a little fun then buckle down to work later.” While it may be true that they may have more than enough time to accomplish their tasks, it would be better if they finished their work first and relax afterwards.

Wouldn’t relaxation be sweeter if it were after a taxing job? If you choose to lay back and relax before doing your tasks, you will be more prone to burnout and will have nothing exciting left to look forward to after accomplishing a task. It is always better to have slack period AFTER a job than before one, especially considering that people are wont to overusing their slack time. This is suicide if you are heading towards a deadline.

3. Never Underestimate Your Tasks – Sometimes procrastination sets in because people underestimate the resources, difficulty, and time spent for a particular task. They will usually say, “It’s just mowing the lawn, its easy; I could do it in a jiffy.” The problem is, no matter how trivial the task, it still takes time and resources to accomplish. If you underestimate a task, you will most likely set too little time to do it and schedule it too close to its deadline.

4. Don’t Allow Yourself to Get Comfortable Doing Nothing – It would definitely help if you kept a subconscious alarm whenever you are doing nothing. Get this alarm to remind you of things that may need to be done. This will help you foster the notion that jobs accomplished now means more time for relaxation later. However, even if this is the case, do not forget to put ample time in for rest and to remove all thoughts of troubles before hitting the sack. The trick here, however, is not to overdo you rest. There is a difference between resting and idling. Always set the right amount of time for rest and stick to that schedule.

STRESS JUDO teaches a method of time management and goal setting called “TF30” – what must be done Today, what must be done by Friday, and what must be done in the next 30 days.

Go to What to do to relieve stress for your 2 FREE reports on how stress harms you and how to overcome stress and turn it into opportunities.

How STRESS JUDO Would Have Saved Miss California

If you saw the Miss USA pageant, or the way-over-the-top coverage after, you saw Miss California answer a question from Perez Hilton about gay marriage.  Now, let’s set aside the REAL controversy (how did Perez Hilton become a “celebrity judge” at a beauty pageant?????) and look at Miss California’s answer.   Specifically, how could STRESS JUDO have helped her fashion a response that would have won the pageant.

STRESS JUDO trains you to look at a stressful situation – and THAT question in front of a national audience, with the Miss USA title on the line pretty much defines “stressful situation” – first with Creative Problem Solving (Chapter 2).  What is the problem presented?  What alternatives can you use?  In this case, Miss California would have seen that Perez Hilton didn’t really CARE about the answer – he just wanted to ask the question. 

STRESS JUDO has other components – time management, self-examination questions, meditation, fitness – that don’t apply to this situation.  But the Daily Practice component (Chapter 13) would have trained her to face stress and remain calm and focused.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  She was calm and was focused, but more on her poise, not on the question situation.  She held it together and did not suffer any anxiety attack.  Daily practice would allow her to see the stress and respond to the stress; in this case, a judge who wanted to get a question ou there, not necessarily to hear an answer.

So how should she have handled the situation?  By realizing that Perez had achieved his goal (asking the question), so she in fact had NO stressful situation.  She could have used Creative Thinking (Chapter 4) or Instant Stress Management (Chapter 9) to side-step the stressor and give one of those non-commital “I love puppies and world peace” that Miss USA contestants are so famous for giving!

Again, the point here is how could STRESS JUDO have helped Miss California.  It would NOT have given her an answer.  It would NOT have made Perez Hilton happy.  But STRESS JUDO training would have allowed Miss California to identify the problem, the stressor, and a solution that removed stress from her.

Click here for more information on what to do to relieve stress and get the free report on the 12 components of a comnprehensive stress management system.

(* we make no guarantee or representation that you will be either Miss California or Miss USA *)

STRESS JUDO community site set up

Hi all.  We have created the STRESS JUDO Community site.  Please check it out.  It is completely barren!  How’s that for a twist – a website with NO sales material, no ads, no pitches – no nothing!  A site that is open and waiting for YOUR content. 

Our promise to you is to keep it free of spam, offensive posts, anything off-topic.  This site is to allow the members of the STRESS JUDO community to be a real community – to discuss the system with each other, without fear of getting sold to, or flamed.

Seriously.  I am sick of joining sites and blogs that are nothing but pitch-fests for the companies that run them.  The STRESS JUDO Community site is set up and run to allow members of the community to discuss these topics without fear or intimidation.  So check it out, and return often.  There’s nothing there right now.  But there will be.  We promise.

Staying In Shape Under Stress Can Get You Promoted

It’s bad enough that people less qualified are getting promoted. It’s worse that you keep getting passed over for raises, when your ideas and plans can improve the company. But when all this is happening because of the bad health effects of stress on your body, it causes double stress: pain of no recognition at work, and the physical pain to your body from not handling stress properly.
One of the worst effects of not handling stress properly is that you are distracted from staying fit and in shape. You may have great skills at time management in the workplace, but your lack of time management skills outside of work are letting your health and fitness slip. But maintaining your fitness level will actually give you the physical and emotional strength to stand up to your stressful situation, which makes it easier to stay in shape.

So staying in shape will help you handle stress at work. Handling stress at work will help you stand out and show management that you are the person who should be promoted and get raises. Here are 5 steps to making sure you focus on staying healthy during periods of stress.
1. Don’t use alcohol or drugs to escape from the pain of the stress. Not only does this do nothing to remove the stress (so it will still be there), but these things destroy your ability to handle stress.
2. Follow this simple but effective diet: drink water throughout the day. Eat smaller meals every 3-4 hours instead of loading up on fatty lunches. Avoid candy bars and doughnuts if you feel the need for energy. Eat fruit instead.
3. Do some aerobic exercise each morning. The point is not only to stay in shape, but to start the day controlling your time, which gives you the mindset of being in control. Even 10 minutes of some kind of active movement will help you.
4. Stretch every now and then. You don’t have to be an Olympic gymnast or a yoga master. Just stretch your back, if you sit at a desk, or your shoulders and legs, if you do strenuous work. This will loosen your muscles, and improve blood flow, which keep you clear-headed to think through stress.
5. Do a sport or activity you enjoy. Even if you aren’t very good at it. This is important not only for the positive distraction it provides from the stress you are under. It also reinforces that you are in control.
If you don’t keep an eye on your fitness and health during stressful periods, then the effects of stress on your body will get worse. Think about it. How does stress affect health? By putting constant steady pressure on your body systems until they simply wear out and break down. And if you wear down at work, someone else steps up and gets the glory.
When most stress management systems discuss what to do to relieve stress, they focus on counteracting things like high blood pressure and headaches. Maintaining your fitness level is included, but as an after thought. Maintaining fitness is an integral part of a comprehensive stress management system. Using a comprehensive stress management system which includes fitness maintenance throughout will eliminate your breaking down under stress and give you the promotions and raises you deserve.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW STRESS JUDO CAN HELP THE STRESS IN YOUR LIFE
Picture your life when stress is not a concern and where you are the leader in stressful situations.
To see exactly how you can do this, go to What to do to relieve stress. STRESS JUDO was developed by Rick Carter, a trial lawyer and martial artist. The courtroom has emotional and intellectual stress, and the dojo and fight ring has physical and psychological stress. It was to handle these stresses that STRESS JUDO was developed, to give you a fighting chance against stress, to turn stressful situations into opportunities.