The Dalai Lama shares how to fight stress positively in the new year

In a January 3 special to the Hindustan Times, the Dalai Lama shared his advice on how to fight the stress we face in our life and how to fight it in a positive way. He says having realistic expectations help shield us from anxiety. He also suggests finding a "sincere motivation", based on "kindness, compassion and respect". This will allow us to achieve any goal.

Here is a brief excerpt. Click on the link below for the full article.

"I write this as someone who lost his freedom at the age of 16, then lost his country at the age of 24. Consequently, I have lived in exile for more than 50 years during which we Tibetans have dedicated ourselves to keeping the Tibetan identity alive and preserving our culture and values. On most days the news from Tibet is heartbreaking, and yet none of these challenges gives grounds for giving up.

One of the approaches that I personally find useful is to cultivate the thought: If the situation or problem is such that it can be remedied, then there is no need to worry about it. In other words, if there is a solution or a way out of the difficulty, you do not need to be overwhelmed by it. The appropriate action is to seek its solution. Then it is clearly more sensible to spend your energy focusing on the solution rather than worrying about the problem. Alternatively, if there is no solution, no possibility of resolution, then there is also no point in being worried about it, because you cannot do anything about it anyway. In that case, the sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be for you.

This formula, of course, implies directly confronting the problem and taking a realistic view. Otherwise you will be unable to find out whether or not there is a resolution to the problem."

Full article at Hindustan Times.