I believe that Michael Jackson was one of the most talented entertainers of our era. In the 70’s I rode around blasting “I’ll be there”, “ABC” and “Got to be there” out of my AM radio from my Burgundy 1964 Chrysler New Yorker that my dad and I painted. I loved Michael’s stuff. Now I must admit it was probably largely due to the fact that the girls loved his stuff too, but Michael, to me, was living the life. He had it made. Little did I know, right?

As he and I grew older, although Michael continued to create and perform some fantastic hits, his personal life seemed to be in a tailspin. So did his health. He contracted lupus in the 1980’s. Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the immune system turns against parts of the body, destroying the very cells and tissues it is meant to protect.

Although there is no one cause for lupus, according to the Lupus Foundation of America some of the factors that contribute to it are exhaustion, injuries, emotional stress, illness, life complications as well as anything that causes stress to the body, such as surgery or physical harm. Scientist have also found that a person can also become more susceptible to the disease when they are taking a drug to treat an illness

Now let’s take a look at what happened to Michael. In 1984 he was burned while singing for a Pepsi-Cola commercial in Los Angeles. When this happened he was the number one recording artist in the world. I would imagine that this added a great deal of acute emotional stress to Michael’s life that eventually turned in to chronic stress.

As a result of his burns he underwent major surgery on his scalp. These injuries resulted in him experiencing chronic pain and he developed an addiction to the pain reliever, Demerol.

Even with all of these factors Michael continued to rule the airwaves with his songs throughout the 1980’s. Then in 1993 he contracted vitiligo, another auto-immune disease, which resulted in the loss of his skin pigmentation. After that he also injured himself a number of times as a result of putting his body through the rigors of his performances. Of course he was given more drugs to counteract his injuries and this other disease.

Now fast forward to June 27, 2009 when Michael’s body couldn’t stand the strain anymore and he finally died. The constant activation of his fight or flight response probably had a great deal to do with his early demise.

You will probably never have to undergo the type of chronic stress that Michael Jackson endured. But I would imagine that you might undergo some trials and tribulations that affect your self-esteem, and perhaps, as I think Michael did toward the end, could cause you to lose your own sense of worth.

So what does it take to immunize you against having your fight or flight mechanism activated so often so your body can recover from the stresses and strains of your life? Although I can’t say that this will prevent you from contracting lupus or any other disease, here are some stress relief secrets that you can use that will help you not only deal with stress but also build your sense of self esteem and self worth. Practice one of them a day for the next seven days and see what happens in your life.

Stress relief secret for day 1 – Decide on your life’s purpose – I don’t believe that this was something that Michael struggled with. It seems to me that his purpose was entertaining people with his huge talent, but what about you?  Are you wandering through life with little direction? Do you hope you’ll stumble on to happiness, health and prosperity?

Take an hour or so today to identify your life purpose or create a mission statement. Once you have done this you will have your own exclusive compass to lead you though life. This may take a while and you may have to re-write it a number of times but once you have it you will have a tool that will go a long way to dealing with stress of not having a direction while propelling you toward achieving your goals and dreams.

Stress relief secret for day 2 – Decide what’s important to you – What in life is most dear to you? Although there are many to choose from, make a list of your top five values. Some examples are freedom, fulfillment, inspiration, recognition, security, family, spiritual development and (my favorite) learning. As you set down to write your goals balance them against your values. If a goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values it may be something you want to reconsider or revise.

When added to the compass of your life’s purpose, knowing your values are an excellent method of dealing with stress and can motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.

Stress relief secret for day 3 – Understand what your needs are – If you have unmet needs you can feel unfulfilled, it can be extremely stressful, which can keep you from living authentically. How can you counteract this? By taking care of yourself. Do you have an ongoing need to be right, to be in control or to be loved? If any of these or any others affects you, determine what you can do about it and begin to take action today! So many people live their lives without fulfilling their needs or realizing their dreams. This causes most of them to end up chronically stressed or can even depressed. Your next step is to list your top four needs and start getting them met before it’s too late!

Stress relief secret for day 4 – Understand what excites you, what your passions are – Now that you know what your needs are, what things excite you? What are you really passionate about? Do you like to teach or travel? Do you like to dine at four star restaurants or dive in the most beautiful spots in the world? Figure out who you are and what you truly enjoy doing in life. In order to overcome obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm you need to determine what turns you on, what will get you out of bed in the morning. You need to become the person you ought to be. Through this form of self expression you honor yourself and the people who have inspired you to become the very person you want to be.

Stress relief secret for day 5 – Develop your spiritual self – Instead of focusing on increasing your net worth, learn to form your personal value from the inside out. Take time every day for self reflection and meditation. This will increase your awareness and inner wisdom. You can do this by communing with nature. You can also learn breathing exercises like Yoga, Qigong and Tai chi which can quiet your distracted mind. Some people just sit in a dimly lit room and play some classical music. Although there is sound, this type of music can be sensationally soothing and help you quiet your mind.

Stress relief secret for day 6 - Make a list of your strengths – What are you good at? What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? Take a little while to list at least three. If you get stuck, ask the people closest to you to help you identify these. Are you imaginative, do you write well, are you witty, a good listener or good with your hands? Find as many ways as possible to express your authentic self through your strengths. This will increase your self-confidence and can allow you to share what you know with others.

Stress relief secret for day 7 -  Become a servant – As Zig Ziglar says “You can have anything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want.” Learn to serve others. By living authentically, you’ll find that you will develop a sense of interconnectedness. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving your talents to the world around you, you can’t help but share your spirit with others. As you share yourself with others, serving them, you will find that your rewards will multiply exponentially.

So there you have it, a week’s worth of stress relief secrets that you can start putting to use today. I really don’t know if Michael Jackson applied any of these to his life. My guess is that he must have applied at least a few of them to reach the heights he did. The good news is that you can use as many as you wish. Although you may never reach the musical heights that Michael Jackson did, dealing with stress will be a lot easier as you put them to use and you’ll move a lot further toward you dreams and goals.

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and author of a Stress Relief e-Course that you can have at absolutely no charge. Drop by http://www.beststressreliefinfosite.com/ for your copy today.