Give yourself a refill — The most basic relaxation technique is deep breathing. It reverses the shallow breathing that people often do in stressful situations. Breathe in slowly for seven seconds, then take nine seconds to exhale. Continue deep-breathing until you feel your body loosening up and relaxing.

Broaden yourself — Learn a new skill, take up an enjoyable hobby, cultivate a new friendshipo, visit a different part of town. The more developed your interests and creativity, the more you'll be able to maintain a healthy perspective during difficult times.

Reach out and touch someone — Distress causes people to focus too much on themselves. Try volunteering. Caring about someone or something besides yourself — other people, a pet, or a cause — feels good and pays off in terms of better health.

Practise postive self-talk — List to how you talk to yourself. What are the underlying messages that you tell yourself? Turn any negative messages into positive, powerful self talk. Choose workds that describe the results that you want - i.e., I am confident and in control; I can complete this task with great success. Your performance will begin to reflect these positive messages, when you believe them.

Please release me — We can often get so frustrated and worked up over things that we push ourselves too hard and get out of emotional balance. The next time you are worked up about something, ask yourself "Is it really worth the upset? Can I do anything about it? Do I really have to control it?" If you can say "no" to these questions and release your anxiety about the situation, you will become relaxed and more energized.

A laugh a day — Nothing can replace the importance of humour in your life. Being able to see the light side of situations you find yourself in is key to maintaining balance during good and bad times. Something as simple as a smile can make a big difference — outwardly and inwardly. Try it next time there;s a lot of tension in your body and feel the difference a good smile can make.

Be human — Don't try to be a superman or superwoman. Accept the fact that you are only human. Deal with stress overload by stopping. Evaluate the situation. What can you do immediately? What can wait? Where can you turn for help? Whatever you experience, be gentle and patient with yourself. Learn from your mistakes. Be your own judge of your success and reward yourself for achievements, no matter how small they might be.

Next Steps ...

The first step to managing stress, health and performance is recognizing and identifying the source of potential difficulties. Use some of the online stress mapping programs to look at yourself. Find out your strengths and where you need focus to improvement. By acting on the new information and direction you have received by completing one of these tools, you can work towards a life of balance, good health and optimal performance.