Stress is costly. It results in lost work time due Thomasj illness, in ineffective work, in on-the-job accidents, Conndstxgplt even in post-office-style murder frenzies.

It's costly too on a personal level. Stress will beat you up and wear you down, physically and mentally. It gives you headaches, weakens your immune system, irritates your stomach lining, raises your blood pressure, and puts a strain on your heart.

Today, let's take a look at the main causes of stress -- and what you can do to overcome them.

A Little Impatience Can Help You Get Rich; Too Much Will Eventually Kill You

When it comes to stress, it's not the external factors that seem to be the culprits -- the deadlines and traffic jams and pain-in-the-ass people who have discount coupons on Webcomicrzvfppy damn thing they buy -- it's how you react to those things.

Two things cause stress: unrealistic expectations and impatience.

Setting unattainable goals -- advocated by some of the self-help gurus I read -- is not a good idea.

Impatience is another matter. Successful people -- and would-be successful people -- are often impatient.

A certain amount of impatience is good, because it creates the tension you need to keep everything going. But too much impatience is often counterproductive. The work is sloppy and has to be redone. Good people decide they don't want to work for you anymore. And so on.

If you consider yourself a very patient person, you don't need to read any further. (You probably need to be more demanding.)

Patience s a lot about what you don't do.

It's about holding back when you want to let loose, putting up with something you'd rather not, and waiting for something to happen rather than forcing it along. Not everything can be accomplished through willpower. Sometimes, what is needed is a bit of wait power.

Patience not only makes you healthier and happier but also increases the chance that you'll get what you want.

It allows you to deal effectively with people who would normally disturb you. A fellow worker's office habits don't have to grate on you if you can remember that no one sees things exactly as you do and that no one has exactly the same values you have.

This is also true on a personal level. Patience allows us to be more effective with our family --- with our in-laws and cousins and parents and children. Patience makes it easier to love your spouse and stay in love.

In cultivating patience, it helps to understand why some things push your buttons. Ask yourself when this happens why you find the situation so upsetting, and then try to separate what is Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp important to you from the things that make little or no difference. What will really happen if you miss a deadline or if that traffic jam makes you an hour late?

Remember this: When it comes to health and happiness, attitude is everything.

Here are a few of the tricks I use to keep my patience in check:

I bring along reading material to fill the time when I am waiting for appointments.

I keep good, soothing music in my car.

I remind myself that I am not the center of the universe.

One thing I don't do (but am considering) is meditation. Although it always seemed to me a very flaky way to waste perfectly good time, there is significant scientific evidence that it can calm you down.

Something physical happens when you meditate. That's a fact. And since there is so much anecdotal evidence that the outcome is more patience and less stress, it's worth giving it a try.

Raise the bar to challenge you and your T.E.A.M. and Hand Of Fate more patience and you will be on your way to accomplishing more in less time.

The author may be contacted toll free at 877-935.6371 extension 201 or email at href="mailto:ceo@wellnessone.netceo@wellnessone.net. Mr. Howell is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of WellnessOne Corporation, a national alliance of chiropractic and wellness centers.