The other day, someone asked me how school was going and my answer was, “I still can’t seem to get my feet under me.” My stress level is high — unfortunately, high stress levels are all to common for so many of us.
Frequently, when we feel stressed, our happiness suffers and so do all the people we touch on a daily basis. It is easy to become discouraged and frustrated. And that kind of attitude is self-defeating. So, how can we overcome those feelings? 
Really, it is all about our attitude and perspective. Sometimes we need to do something different to get us out of a funk. Here are some suggestions:
1. Reach out and have lunch with someone who is always positive and let it rub off on you.
2. Find something motivational and hang it on your wall. Read it over and over until you start to live it.
3. Slow down. When stressed we speed up everything, doing it wrong twice instead of right once. A calm spirit is a happy spirit.
4. Turn off TV shows where the entertainment is at someone else’s expense, mean spirited
judgmental or violent. What you watch impacts how you feel. Watch something that makes you laugh: Baby has a Bad Day
judgmental or violent. What you watch impacts how you feel. Watch something that makes you laugh: Baby has a Bad Day
5. Leave the table where everyone is complaining, and sit with someone who is good at telling jokes.
6. Go for a walk or exercise. It’s hard to be mad, frustrated, or stressed out about something when your side hurts like a bamboo skewer got stuck under your fingernail (Mark added this one J).
7. Smile, even if you don’t feel like it. It changes how you feel and gets others to smile around you. Like a yawn, a smile is contagious.