If there is one thing I have learned is that stress can take it's toll on you mentally, physically and emotionally, especially if you don't learn how to manage it. No matter who you are , you have some form of stress in your life at some point,that is the simple reality of life. In the last few years , experiences in my life have taken me down many stressful situations and in some cases I have not made the best choices and mistakes I made a few. Stress made me sick, physically and took its toll mentally. Luckily, I chose to learn from those experiences as I am an optimistic person by nature. I am happy and excited to say today my life is much different.
I am confident when I say my experience has taught that you can manage stress and instead of buckling under the pressure you can rise to the challenge. How is that possible? Well, in my opinion it comes down to how you look at things..and that has to do with your attitude. How we think has a huge impact on our life.
If there is one thing I can say with absolute certainity if you want to stop letting stress manage you , you have to learn to manage it and you have to change the way you approach situations. It all starts with YOU and you willing to make changes.
Here are some tips to help you change your mindset:
1. Start looking at yourself as a problem solver. Rather than wallowing in the issue at this stressing you out..seek ways of solving and believe you me there are always ways!
2. Stop being the victim. Its easy to be the victim but it serves very little purpose after awhile and it is much more useful to feel empowered than feeling disempowered. It is easy to sit and complian and blame everyone else for what has happened. You have to take accountablity for your actions. Whether you dealing with financial, health, relationships you always have a choice and you can control how you react to any situation. It is hard, believe me I know.
3.Look on the bright side. Focusing on the positive side of things is calming and far more productive. Taking a pessimistic view point naturally puts our bodies in a threatening state. Faced with any type of problem rather than catastrophize it , think of positive solutions.
4. Enjoy change. Whenever change is occuring it can be scary and create anxeity. When you view change from a negative viewpoint stress levels can escalate. Thinking of change as a reality of life and exciting helps embrace it in a more non threatening way.
5. Learn to Say NO. Women are often the worst for some reason. We tend to want to be all things to all people. There are times when we have to take a step back when we are feeling a little overwhelmed and be ok with saying NO. You know and understand your energy and time so protect it and use it wisely!
6. Set goals both short and long term. Goals help to organize and bring focus and clarity into our lives. I can't stress enough the importance of this and when you have a clear purpose in life it becomes easier to take charge and manage any stress that enters your life.
7. Strong Relationships. It has been proven that those who manage stress the best have strong support systems. It is important to have people in your life who encourage you, believe in you, listen, want what is best for you and allow you to be who you are.
8. Practice.Hey I know this doesn't happen overnight. We are all human and with any new skill it takes practice. So each time when faced with a new stressful situation if you keep practicing a new way to handling the situation you do start to feel the shift. You will slip from time to time, that is ok. The important thing is being aware!
It is so empowering when you learn that you can manage stress and it doesn't have to manage you!
