Life deals us all a measure of stress. We can be focusing on handling our tasks according to schedule when all of a sudden another issue brings itself forward. For example, if a person is writing a report that is due tomorrow and all of a sudden, the phone rings and a friend is on the other line asking us to join them in an evening of fun. This is a stressor, since the person may feel like he or she let their friend down if they say no. On the flip side if the person is torn between two engagements, he or she might weigh the questions in their mind and see that the report is most important to finish. When the person decides to finish the report and turns it in on schedule, he or she will feel good for the accomplishment. Now if that person sits around the entire evening trying to decide whether to join the friend or finish the report he or she is adding stress. Therefore, decision plays a large part in stress. If we are making good decisions most likely, the stress in our life will decrease. We can see from the picture that had the person made the choice to hang out with friends rather than hold up to his or her obligations that stress would have followed, since the person would be penalized for failure and possibly re-assigned. Another example can be seen when a mother arrives home from work, the babysitter is telling her about the day’s events, the baby is crying and she is rushing to prepare a meal for the family. We can see this woman is weighed down with stress and stressors, but how she handles it will make all the difference to her health and mind. Let us review and think about a common situation and how stress can be reduced. Ok, mom arrives home, the babysitter is cramming her head with the day’s events, the baby is crying and a meal needs to be prepared. What can the mother do to avoid stress? First, the baby needs attention since he or she is upset for some reason. Now the mother could ask the babysitter to attend to the child, or else she could put the babysitter on hold and attend to the child herself. The baby is quiet. Now, mom can return to the kitchen and tell the babysitter what she is trying to achieve, and tell her that she may inform her of the day’s events, providing she does so while she works to prepare the meal. It might be helpful for the mother to relax for a few minutes and prepare herself for the upcoming tasks by taking a few short breaths. She then can return to the kitchen, listen to the babysitter while she prepares a meal. Now if she planned what she would cook for that day she is already one-step closer to relaxation. On the other hand, if the mother continued rushing her nerves would be on edge and stress would wrap itself around her for the rest of the evening. This is part of life’s demands and it all depends on how we deal with each situation that comes our way to determine the level of stress we will endure. The two examples are less extreme, however, even if stressors present itself to us on a complex level our decision will determine how much stress we will endure. For example, a mother rushes home from work to find her children unattended. The babysitter is nowhere in site and the welfare people were contacted. The mother is expected to have dinner on the table for her family. What can she do to remove stressors and stress? Wow, I wound not want to be this mother. However, if the mother thinks throughout the complex situation she will see an outing. If the mother questions the children to see if any valid excuse is available for the babysitter ammunition will be available, but since the state is now involved the mother needs some valuable resources that will protect her children. She knows that dinner is not the most important problem in front of her; therefore, sometimes we have to put something’s on the back burner for the time being. Therefore, we see that thinking and decisions all play a part in reducing stress.