Stressors are events that cause an emotional and/or physical reaction. Stress can be positive (new house, baby) or negative (loss of job, car accident, major illness). But what is important is to be able to manage the many stressors in your life.

Of course, it is important to have the tools to manage the stress (exercise, mediation, prayer, therapy).

Key to all that is to determine what is worth stressing over. Prioritize the issues that are most important to you. Also decide what issues can be changed or resolved and which ones cannot.

• If the issue is important and can be changed, come up with ways to make the change, even if it may be uncomfortable.
• If the issue is something that you cannot change, then come up with ways to cope with it.
• If the issue is not that important, think about how you can put things in perspective.