Recently, I have had some stress in my life. Some of it was my own doing, and some beyond my control.

I would like to believe that I know how to take care of myself and control all of my stress at any given time but who am I kidding? Just myself.

We all have times in our lives when we may need some help from our friends and family when it comes to very stressful times.

They are always there to listen to your problems, even when they do not want to.

Another thing I have in my back pocket are my Beauty Thoughts. I use these every time I need to think positive about life.

I know that I cannot have it all the time-but I really want joy in my life. I want to do joyful activities that help me to feel good. I want to rid myself of the things I no longer want to do and become at peace with myself. Meaningful moments, hours days, weeks, months and years!

I want the rest of my life to be balanced, and when it is out of balance- I really feel it. I hurt, physically, mentally and spiritually.

This causes me to do dreadful things like eat too much, and that is not one of my beauty moments or thoughts.

How do we get our power back into our lives, and learn how to decrease the stress?

Here are a few ideas: Louis Hay in her book: Empowering Women talks about how to get your power back.

1. We have the power to change our thinking, our words, and our feelings.

2. We can make positive changes right now.

3. Negative thoughts are not only bad, but toxic to our mind, body and spirit. They are like poison running through our bodies. We need to stop them right now!!

4. Day by day, I will improve the quality of my life by doing the things that I enjoy doing, and by stopping the things that make me feel bad or stressed out. Even if it is costly. For example: Staying in a bad job just because of the money is like taking a few years of your life away with cigarette smoking.

Taken in part from: Hay, L. ( 2010). Empowering Women: Every Woman’s Guide to Successful Living. New York, NY. Hay House, Inc.