All these years of working with clients to manage the stress in their lives has taught me two important things that we all need to learn and remember:

1. The only people who have absolutely no stress can be found in the cemetery

What this means is that trying to eliminate all stress from your life is not a reasonable or achievable goal. Learning how to successfully and strategically manage and master the stress in your life is a reasonable and reachable goal. It's what we want to do with stress.

2. Some of the most powerful ways to manage and master our stress are often not the most obvious solutions

There are times in your life when you have to add something to your life in order to manage and master the stress in your life. At the same time, there are times in your life when you have to get rid of something from your life in order to manage and master stress.

So the action questions become:

1. What is currently not in your life that adding would help you manage and master stress?

2. What is currently in your life that substracting would helpy you manage and master stress?

Get your answers to these two questions and you are well on you way to managing and mastering stress.

Jeff Herring

Jeff is a marriage and family therapist, singles and relationship coach, mentor coach, speaker, syndicated relationship columnist and author.

Jeff has a full time private practice in Tallahassee in which he specializes in couples, teen and parent counseling. He also is a relationship coach specializing in working with couples and singles. Some of his professional activities include:

==> Internationally syndicated relationship columnist through Knight-Ridder/Tribune Media Services, with a weekly readership of over 10 million worldwide

==> Sought after speaker for organizations, associations, churches, and corporations

==>Twice weekly appearances on The Steve and Sara Show on Magic 107.1

==> Author of "Keep the Changes: 52 Tools for Successful Living" a collection of his best columns, as well as several e-books including "How to Create a Passionate and Loving Relationship.........Forever," "How to Beat the BOZOs: Dealing with difficult people without becoming one," and "Tame Your Teen: THE survival guide for parenting your teenager.

==> Founder and CEO of TheArticleGuy.com

==> Founder and CEO of SecretsofGreatRelationships.com

==> Founder and CEO of ParentingYourTeeanger.com

==> Founder and CEO of ToolsforSuccessfulLiving.com

==> President of BuildingYourIdealPractice.com

==> President of ConsciousDatingTallahassee.com