Here is a picture of me in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. See my big smile? That’s because I have nothing to worry about while I’m there!

It’s true that not everyone can take off and go to Mexico for a while to break the stress pattern in their life. But it is also true that you can take a short road-trip to a place you’ve never been before. Or even take a walk somewhere new. That newness can make you look at life in a different way-see things you never saw before-break your patterns of thinking because you must concentrate on where you are going.

Stress comes from negative thoughts we think about (are worried about) at the moment and usually those thoughts create a rut as they go round and round in our heads. Break those usual patterns of thinking and we have a chance to think thoughts that get us out of the rut, uplift us, make us happy. Like the time you spent a glorious day at the beach with people you loved, or a place where you felt relaxed and safe.

I remember thinking that if I didn’t worry about a situation in my life that the problem would get worse. Crazy, I know, but that’s how the mind can fool us into holding onto something we have no control of at the time.

So don’t worry, those worries will wait for a while without you thinking about them. Hand them over to the God of your understanding and enjoy your life.