You can change your life for the better simply by clearing out the stress that doesn't have to be there and managing the stress that does. You can feel better today, and you can feel even better in a few days, a few weeks, a few months, a few years. Stress management is for life, and with little changes here and there, with vigilance, with monitoring, and with a continued commitment to maximizing your individual potential by minimizing the things that are holding you back, things can only look up.

I'll leave you with ten final tips for managing the stress in your life for the rest of your life. You can do it! Stop wasting your time and letting the best part of you drain away from lack of energy. Let yourself be strong, energized, and in control of you.

• Know thyself, know thy stress. You are worth your own time. The more you know about yourself, the more you'll understand about what stresses you out and what you can do about it.

• Stay tuned in. Pay attention to how you feel. Write it down. Keep track, and you'll understand more about what needs to be done and why you do the things you do when life gets stressful.

• Keep building your stress management network. Nobody can do it all alone. Let your friends and family help you, and be there to help them, too.

• Believe in yourself. If you can break past the barriers, you can be that person you know you are inside. Trust in yourself and have confidence in yourself, even when it seems like nobody else does. Only you know your true potential.

• Keep your perspective. When things seem out of control, step back to gain perspective. What will this mean in the scheme of things? What are your options? What are some alternate strategies? Is it worth letting go of this one?

• Don't worry, be happy! Trite by now, perhaps, but it's a catchy song and even catchier advice. If you find yourself worrying, stop. Do something that makes you happy instead. It's good medicine.

• Accept what you can't control. You have control over what you say, do, and, in some cases, feel. You don't have control over what other people say, do, or feel. You don't have control over many of the things that happen to you or affect you in life. If you can't control it, you might as well accept it. Anything else is just a waste of energy.

• Control what you can control. You don't have to accept the negative effects of stress on your body, mind, and spirit. You don't have to agree to do everything you are asked. You don't have to be overwhelmed, overscheduled, or overworked. If you can control it, figure out a way to control it. It's your life. Nobody else is in charge but you. So, start being in charge!

• Live, love, laugh. Those three things make it all worthwhile and put stress in its proper place.

• Always take care. Take care of yourself. You are a person worth caring for. You deserve to love yourself and feel good about yourself, no matter what your imperfections. If you take care of yourself, you'll be in the best possible state to take care of others. It's all connected, after all.

Stress is just something that happens to us, that's all. It doesn't impact who you are inside, and its presence in your life says nothing about you, except, perhaps, that you are human. But if stress is hurting you, you can make it stop. Commit to yourself, commit to stress management, commit to being happy, and you'll find that it's looking like fair weather on the road ahead.

Good luck to you as you go along your way.