I was traveling from Queens to Staten Island (here in New York City) on a hot rainy day. The subway tracks in Manhattan had flooded so the trains were barely running. Here I was standing in an extremely hot and humid underground station, sweating so much I thought I would melt. I noticed that several individuals around me were getting angry and frustrated. Which led to some complaining. The more they complained the more frustrated they got.

In the heat, surrounded by stressed people I realized that I was getting frustrated as well. So I thought of something that I enjoy doing and would be doing in the very near future. In this case it was sitting on my computer and working on an article. I took a deep breath and imagined sitting on my computer in my air conditioned room writing. I let a smile fill my body. That broke the stress.

Next, I knew I had to change my outlook on the present situation. I realized I could start writing right away. This way I could use the train delays to my advantage to get ahead in my work. By this time I was excited and humming to myself as I stood in the heat writing in my notebook.

Much of the stress in our everyday lives can come from our thought processes. How we perceive a situation can be off and so we can feel that we are off. We can jump to wrong conclusions about people's motives and so be seen as unreasonable. All of this can send us spinning downward into a spiral of negative thinking and so stress is born.

Here are some effective and simple tools that help to change this negative thinking.

Affirmations are a very powerful tool, especially when used with some proper mental imagery and good breathing patterns.

Here are 5 rules of affirmations to create the internal state you desire

1.Say exactly what you want with positive words.

If you want to feel relaxed, your affirmation should be about relaxation. NOT "I don't want to feel uneasy", because the image you are creating in your mind is of being uneasy, not relaxed.

2. Phrase your affirmations in the present tense.

Example; don't say "I want to feel relaxed", instead say "I am feeling more and more relaxed".

3. Be specific with what you want. You can use as much detail as you like.

Example; "My legs are relaxing more and more making the muscle in my feet loosen and relax" and so on.

4. Use simple and emotionally stimulating words.

Example; "It feels so wonderful to be this relaxed and peaceful".

5. Be repetitive.

Repeat your affirmation as many times as you like. Meditate on it as long as you like. It will help you integrate it into your subconscious mind.