Finding a way to take the stress out of one's life is becoming more and more important all the time.  Between the crazy hours that we work and the quality time that we want to spend with our families, getting burnt out is now a very common occurrence.  So is there a perfect way to cut the stress?  I don't think so!  That would be way too easy!  Becoming a more peaceful, less anxious human being requires a number of different solutions.  Now, I don't claim to have all the answers but hopefully this little article can help someone out there in Internet land.

Below you'll find 5 different ways that I use to keep the stess and craziness in my life to a mimimum.  You'll also find some useful links towards the end of the page.  If you have any comments, I'd love to hear them!

1. Meditation

Meditating has long been a very popular method of finding peace in one's life - and with good reason... It works extremely well! To someone who has never tried it before, meditation may seem too exotic or "out-there". If this is how you feel, please keep reading. Finding peace with this ancient art doesn't mean you have to climb to the top of a mountain and sit cross-legged for 8 hours a day. Here is a simple exercise that I perform daily:

Sit down in a comfortable position. Make sure that there isn't too much noise in the room. It doesn't have to be completely silent but you should not be too easily distracted either. Close your eyes and just concentrate on your breath. Watch your thoughts as they come into your head. Don't indulge in them! Just notice them as they pass. If your mind starts to wander, simply refocus on the breath.

Try this for 10 minutes a day or so. As you get more comfortable, you'll be able to do this for longer.

2.  Exercise Your Way Out Of Stress!

This is another fantastic stress killer. While meditation focused on the mind, exercise focuses more on the physical. The type of exercise that you choose to do doesn't matter. I find that running works for me. Load up the iPod with the latest Death Metal tracks and go for a jog! If you're more of a sporty person, though, feel free to indulge yourself in tennis, squash, soccer or any other game. The point is to get your heart rate going. It's amazing how quickly an accelerated heart rate will make you forget about your problems.

An added benefit of team sports is the social interaction that comes with it. Meeting new people and having a laugh with them is always an excellent way to ease anxiety.

3. Yoga - A Brilliant Combination Of Mental And Physical Exercise

I love Yoga as a stress reliever! It takes everything you get with meditation and combines it with the anxiety kicking pain of physical exercise. Yoga, much like meditation, carries with it a sort of "Exotic, Eastern" stigma that many folks have a hard time getting over. This is really too bad as I'm sure the world would be a much more peaceful place if we all had to do "downward dogs" once a week.

If you're a bit of a Yoga virgin, never fear! Classes are becoming more and more popular all the time. Walk (or better yet run!) down to the community centre and see if they offer some "Yoga For Beginners" type course. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

For the really shy people reading, we have a solution for you too! There are a ton of online courses and videos available. Just get on the Google-Train and see what comes up.

Keeping a journal or diary is another tool that you can use to reduce the amount of stress and anxiety in your life.  There is something very therapeutic about writing down your deepest thoughts and feelings.  I've had mild success with this method but only because I'm never consistent with my writings.  If you want to get anything from this, I think it's important that you make at least one entry every day.

You can write whatever you want in it.  Just make sure that it's honest.  Don't get into the habit of writing only the negative thoughts though.  You want to have at least one good point for every bad one.  Also make an effort to look at previous entries every once in a while.  This will insure that you're making progress.

Another great stress reliever is to change up your diet.  The best thing you can do is put good stuff in your body.  I don't know that there is any scientific facts backing up, but I feel that good food=good feelings and bad food=bad feelings.  Look for my upcoming article in Scientific Digest on this topic :)

Anyway...  Try putting more natural food into your daily routine.  Replace the bag of chips you have with lunch to some organic nuts.  Have some fresh juice instead of a can of Pepsi.  You may also want to try cutting back on certain things from your diet as well.  It pains me to say this, but there are strong links between caffeine, alcohol and stress.  Maybe try limiting yourself to one cup of coffee a day and three bottles of beer on the weekend.