Make sure the zone is not a place where you spend most of your time or has other people in it. Keep the kitchen and family room as cheerful as possible. The bedroom is for sleeping and other pleasant activities so no worrying is allowed there. Ditto for the office, the bathroom, the car, church meetings, movies, restaurants, etc. Pick only one place for the worry zone.



5. Howl and hallucinate: imagine those that you are blaming for your stress. What would they look like if you started howling at them during the stress episode? Imagine the look on their face when you howled with glee. Imagine the look on your in-laws faces when you howl in their kitchen. Imagine the look on your boss' face when you howl standing on your desk. Imagine the look on those folks waiting in line at the grocery store when you howl like a maniac. Need to spice up your romantic life? Next time you are in the midst of that romantic stuff just start howling. Your wife will think you are a stud muffin. Your husband will think you are a hotty.

6. Motivate yourself with good feelings for a change! Many people motivate themselves with bad feelings! Even worse, they frequently motivate themselves to do what they don't want or enjoy! Use pleasant voice tones to talk inside your head. Use them to talk with others also. Think of the enjoyment associated with completion of a project instead of the many steps required. Focus on the benefits of what/why you are doing the activity rather than on any unpleasantness associated with it. Also focus on how good it will feel to be done with project and on to other things you enjoy even more.

7. Eat real food that protects your body from stress. Junk food decreases your body's ability to deal with stress. It also weakens your immune system so that you are weaker and more vulnerable to injury and/or illness. Ditto for alcohol and other self defeating habits. Exercise is close to the magic bullet or fountain of youth. Make sure you get enough to make a major difference in your health/fitness levels. What is the best exercise? Something that you enjoy enough to do several times a week for a lifetime.

9. You are special. Start acting like it. There is nobody else like you. You are truly unique. Never in the history of our planet has there been another you. There will never be another you in the eons of eternity that make up the future. Never. You are one of a kind. When God made you He was simply showing off. Now, go do great things. You deserve them and are fully capable.

10. Everybody else is special too. Start treating them that way. Everything in # 9 above applies to everyone. Yes, even the boneheads. The reason they are boneheads is that they don't know how special they are...yet. Your purpose in life could include teaching them. Remember: we did not come to this planet to fail. We came here to succeed on a massive scale doing the right thing in the right way for the right reason while having a spectacularly good time helping the others.