Each day our life is filled with change. Some are dramatic like the fallout we experienced after the terrorist attack. Some are challenging: a sudden change in weather that creates dangerous driving conditions, a new assignment at work, adjustments in an important relationship or a diagnosis of a life-threatening disease. Others are more subtle: a meal that doesn't agree with you, a change in lighting as the days get shorter, a favorite chair that doesn't support your back as well as it used to.

These events, and more, are your "stressors". Your awareness of needing to change to respond to these is your "stress". How you respond (vs. react) to these challenges affects the quality of your life.

The goal of "stress management" is not to remove you from the circumstances that threaten your equilibrium. Instead it is to help you accept life's challenges as adventures and to face what life has placed before you. It is this ability to be resilient that gives you a competitive advantage in today's world.

When faced with adversity, instead of positioning yourself as a lion entering battle or a cowering lamb, remember that any struggle to bounce back and recover from setbacks can lead to the development of strengths and abilities that you didn't know were possible.

It's not necessary to be in a twelve step recovery program to take advantage of one of their most useful sayings: "God, grant me the ability to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."

Have a healthy week.