5. Perspective: A smart way to manage your level of stress is to keep those stress-causing events in perspective. Very few incidents put our life or our health in jeopardy. Give yourself credit for having the ability to figure out a solution if things don't go as planned and let your feelings of stress drop. And by the way, … learn from your mistakes.

6. Attitude: A major factor in determining the level of stress we feel from a situation depends on one's attitude. We live in a world where we're literally bombarded by messages day and night. Unfortunately many, if not most, of those messages are negative. Therefore, in order to protect our attitude we need to regulate what we see and hear as much as possible. First off, cut out the negatives. Stop watching and listening to the news, stop reading the newspaper cover to cover, and avoid negative people who are pessimistic or who belittle your goals, dreams, or abilities. Then, add positives. Read personal growth books - books that help you adopt new success attitudes and habits, or books about people you admire. Listen to tapes or CD's which do the same. (Two of my favorite sources for these programs are: www.nightingale.com and www.success.com ) Protecting your attitude is one of the best things you can do to lower stress and ensure your success.

7. Play: Sometimes the best way to break out of the cycle of stress is to stop working and start playing. Take a break and do something fun. (Don't confuse "fun" with "pleasurable". They're not always the same. Make sure that what you do isn't self-destructive.) Whether it's a hobby, a sport, a get-away, or a simple diversion, taking a break and taking your mind off your circumstances can really help you get things under control.

Working to effectively minimize or even eliminate stress will have a significant impact not only on your health, but on your creativity, energy levels, people skills and relationships. The most productive people I know have learned to deal with events in their lives in such a way as not to feel much stress. It’s not that they are indifferent, thick-skinned, or robots. Instead, they’ve developed "rituals" to deal with situations that might cause others to feel stress. They carefully guard their attitude and their energy levels, along with having a clear sense of priorities.

If you want to be at the top of your game, spend the time to determine which "rituals" help you to alleviate stressful feelings and be committed to taking care of yourself. I have a Zen Buddhist saying on the wall of my office which says, "Live half for yourself, and half for others." It’s a good philosophy to live by.

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