Think back to when you were young. Do you remember jumping on a wagon and hurtling down a hill with reckless abandon? Faster and faster you went until the speed was such that it was no longer fun.

At some point you invariably got hurt. Wheeeee! went to Owwww!

How much of the seemingly-increasing speed of today's world is taking you from "Wheee!" to "Owww!"?

The pressure is on to do more, in a shorter amount of time, often doing simultaneous things. There is a cost to be paid. Less attention to detail. Poorly completed tasks. An unbalanced nervous system, which can lead to serious consequences.

Stress is like an octopus with its tentacles reaching into all areas of your life. Health. Family. Work. Creativity. Sports. Recreation. Unlike Vegas, stress doesn't stay where and when it occurs. Cortisol, the stress hormone, takes up to thirteen hours to leave your body. It is cumulative. Unless you have techniques to diffuse its effects, you are steeping in a "brew" that leaves more than just a bad feeling.

If you're feeling stressed by the "gottadomoreandfaster" urge, help is on the way. Learn some simple and effective techniques that take you from "Owww!" to "Wheee!"

You're thinking and feeling anyway, so why not make it count?