What’s Your Baseline Stress Level

To start off with, I would like you to rate yourself on a scale of 0 to 10. Zero is you have no stress, no pressure in your life whatsoever. You’re so mellow that every day is rather like you are dream walking through the day. It’s kind of like you’re sleepwalking and never really even had to get out of bed. You feel so calm and so wonderful. There’s just nothing that bothers you at all. That’s “0”.

Ten, on the other hand, is where you keep checking your pulse and timing it with the second hand on your watch to see if it’s time to call 911 yet! Because, you feel like you are on the verge of having a heart attack. That’s 10.

So where do you rate yourself in your normal day? Not your vacation life. Not when you’re just hanging out at home watching TV. But where is your normal day? Where would you put yourself, on an scale of 0 to 10? Mentally, just pick a number, because you’re probably pretty accurate. Very few people are down to a 0.

You probably want to normally float between 3 and 6. Somewhere in that range. You need a little stress to keep you going, but not so much that you are a stressed mess.

Peaks and Valleys are Normal

Very few people are up in 10 continuously. Most of us go up and down. Sometimes we’re lower, sometimes we’re higher. Sometimes events occur that just send us off the scale. Other times events occur that just mellow us out so much, and bring so much lightness, humor and relaxation into our lives, it’s just a piece of cake.

Where are you normally? Remember it’s perfectly normal to go up and down. Your body is designed to do that. Your body is programmed to be able to cope with stressors that come up. Whether it is needing to eat, whether it is getting bills paid, whether it is getting through traffic or making a decision for yourself or your family. Whether it is starting a new job, or going through a new process at work that you have to learn in the near future.