Live in the moment, but also plan for future stress
Matthew McLaren
PhD in Nutritional Science| Author of 5 Books| Health, Wellness and Marriage
Need help staying positive during trying times? Live more in the moment, but also focus on how to cope with future stresses. This advice comes from a study published online March 25, 2020, by Personality and Individual Differences.
Researchers explored two factors in how people handle stress: mindfulness and proactive coping. Mindfulness is when people live in the moment rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Proactive coping is when people make efforts to reduce the effect stress has on them.
In the study, researchers looked at how 223 people responded to daily stress. Everyone completed a survey to show how they engage in positive coping. Examples included "I visualize my dreams and try to achieve them" and "I try to take care of little problems before they become big problems."
To measure mindfulness, the group filled out daily questionnaires that recorded how often they stayed in the present moment during the day. Examples of not being present, which suggests low levels of mindfulness, included "It seems I am 'running on automatic,' without much awareness of what I'm doing," and "I forget a person's name almost as soon as I've been told it for the first time." The participants also reported on their daily stress levels and negative moods.
Participants who engaged in both proactive coping and high mindfulness were more resilient against daily stressors compared with those who performed only one. While excelling in both areas is a challenge, the researchers noted that to best manage stress, you need the combination of living in the moment and focusing on how to cope with future stresses.
Bible verses for today’s meditation and inspiration: Matthew E. McLaren
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Psalm 143:8
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3-4
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:14
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16
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