Stress Management: Prioritizing and Goal-Setting for Optimal Well-being

Empowering Life through Prioritization and Intrinsic Motivation

Stress plays a role in every aspect of life. When lifestyles are not balanced, health is negatively affected, especially when one’s lifestyle lacks prioritizing skills.

Gaining adequate time management skills reprograms old habits. The instant a sense of control is perceived. It Enhances the way individuals set their short and long-term goals. In turn, gain the ability to easily identify what truly brings value to their life. This intrinsic motivator allows them to keep pushing in the direction that will satisfy their own values (Jackson, 2011). Simply deciphering what activities to include in their day to help achieve an end goal. It is enough to keep the individual motivated because the drive is coming from within themselves. Even when problems arise when trying to continue working on time management skills, being intrinsically motivated allows the person to find an alternative option (Seaward,2011,716). Simply because we are all naturally inclined to fight for what brings value into our lives.

When individuals use techniques that give them a sense of control, it eases unnecessary stress, like sweating small problems and reacting to what comes up. There are many techniques that can help you better manage stress. One particular technique that can be implemented to help stress levels is by prioritizing techniques. It curbs negative stress in advance. Hence, when an individual practices prioritizing, essentially, they are deciding what is most important or urgent. Prioritizing can help one reach one’s goals. Without prioritizing and putting what is most important first, working hard does not outweigh working toward a specified goal. This is why it is recommended that individuals write down their tasks and do them in order of importance so that the most important tasks can always be tackled (Seaward 716-718). That way, the most stressful tasks could be handled in the best way possible.

Stress-Induced Imbalances: The Consequences and Path to Well-Being

Not taking stress seriously can cause numerous symptoms that lead to imbalances throughout the body and can end up leading to the formation of diseases. The most common body imbalance is experiencing different sleeping patterns, which leads the individual to experience fatigue constantly. This stops them from becoming aware of how their reactions to each stressor really affect their well-being (Laura, 2011). Not implementing the stress techniques of setting goals and prioritizing causes one to become very anxious and perceive that they will not get the task done. In other words, it activates the flight or fight system, causing the body to change and creating an imbalance throughout the body. This is the dual response of the sympathetic nervous system and endocrine system.

The sympathetic nervous system connects messages to the nerves and endocrine system, shooting adrenaline directly into the blood system. That causes cortisol to increase oxygen to the brain and cause the immune system to get suppressed (Rodger,2011). In turn, it increases anxiety levels because too much oxygen in the brain clouds the sense of control one actually has over one’s end goals, and the immune system is slowly suppressed because of the shallow breaths normally taken. Individuals who implement techniques in advance perceive that they have time and end up being more relaxed rather than being tensed up about how the task will be done.

Overall, the level at which you evaluate and set goals highly predetermine how physical well-being turns out. Breaking down and figuring out what goals work best to manage time appropriately decreases the level of body tension that is caused by stress. Also, Making goals and working on prioritizing time effectively helps with time management skills. Having the ability to identify stressors and constantly learning how to use the appropriate techniques decreases the chances of chronic diseases in the long run. This leads to a healthier performing body system.

References

1. Larsen, L. (Ed.) (2011). (4th ed). Fitness and Exercise Sourcebook. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics.
2. Seaward, B. L. (2011). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being (7th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
3. Rodger D. (2011). Sympathetic nervous system. In K. Rogers (Ed.), The brain and the nervous system (pp. 76–80). New York, NY: Britannica/Rose Educational