Planning: Setting goals is an ideal way to prevent undue stress, and anxiety. Most people fail to set goals for themselves after they have gotten involved with the basic structure of adult life. They get a diploma, and for some this is as far as the planning went. I guess we just figure that the hard part is over, and life will take care of itself. This is probably the truest statement a naive mind can make.

Goals are like a life atlas, they map out your sojourn so you don’t end up on some off ramp years from now anxious, disoriented, and depressed.

Long term goals may sound corny, or even a bit arrogant. That’s OK because they are your dreams (and a source of great joy once achieved)

Mid-range goals should be things that will stretch you, and your imagination. They should look something like, wow, that looks hard, but I can see myself accomplishing that if I work at it.

Short term goals are really exiting. They are constantly moving, changing, growing upward, and putting the mid range in perspective so it doesn’t seem so fearful. Writing the goals on paper and repeating them aloud will be a foundation. Seeing the short term being accomplished will provide the energy needed to accomplish anything.

Know yourself: This may sound crazy, of course you know yourself. What I would ask you is, do you know yourself, or just the self you have become use to? You are who you are. Are you all that you want to be?

Let’s try something just for fun. Get a piece of paper, and in ten minutes write down every characteristic of being human you can think of. (Creative, assertive, good speaker etc...) Now beside each word put the letter S for strong, and W for weak.

After a little bit of thought you will probably start to realize that the words marked W are the parts of your character that cause anxiety, so therefore avoided. This is natural, but I would like to challenge you to examine your weaknesses in a nonjudgmental way. Then you can incorporate some tasks into your daily goals that will strengthen your weaknesses. The ultimate result being a more balanced, anxiety free life.

Be grateful: This is the glue that binds the first two steps together. You will forever live in anxiety, frustration, and lack without gratitude.

You will take the love, and possessions you do have for granted, waiting for that elusive, yeah but, or if only. STOP IT!

Take this moment and be soulfully thankful, and that takes the pressure off the moments to come. Gratitude is the grease that keeps your soul from becoming hard and depressed as you travel with less friction through life.

Envy is the killer of gratitude, so be mindful to count your many blessings, and you will be amazed at how the blessings keep unfolding for you.

Challenge yourself to commit these three steps to a journal. Tab or bookmark it off into three sections. Dutifully commit yourself to 30 minutes a day. It will become second nature after awhile.

Within a short time you will begin to see and feel the affects of your effort with a life that flows with more grace, and less anxiety.