Module 73 - Dealing with Stress - Self-Inspiration and Motivation

Personal Development, Leadership, and Motivation Blog Series

Sources of stress

We all experience stress in our lives. Sometimes it is as simple as sitting in traffic with important meeting time approaching, and sometimes it’s more serious, such as being let go from a job and not knowing how you are going to pay bills moving forward. Regardless of the sources of stress, we experience it and many people experience it regularly.

How stress is affecting us?

Continuous experience of stress may also have a negative effect on our physical and emotional state. We often forget to recognize stress as something that is affecting us when we are down and/or facing challenges, thinking that if we try not to focus too much on what is going on, it will pass without us taking any actions to address it.

Even though we know about negative impact of stress on our wellbeing, we don’t know how to deal with it on our own and, therefore, choose to ignore it until it gets very difficult to manage. But why? Are there ways to recognize and manage stress?

How to recognize and manage stress?

First and foremost, it’s important to be honest with yourself and to recognize the period of time when you may be dealing with stress, regardless of its complexity or timing. Typically, when a person is experiencing stress they are asking themselves the following questions: “How do I deal with specific situation at hand? Or “Am I capable of accomplishing a particular task or project within expected timelines and quality?” or “How do I deal with situation at hand?” These are only some examples of questions that may be going through a person’s mind when they are faced with uncertainties and stress.

So, how to you deal with stress once you recognize it?

One method that works for me every time is asking myself: “What is my lifetime goal and dream that I want to achieve?” It may seem like it is simple or even unrelated question in relation to stress experience, but it certainly is related. Once you ask yourself this question, it helps you to refocus your thinking on the bigger picture versus continuing to focus on temporary setbacks you may be experiencing.

Temporary setbacks and reasons to keep moving forward

There’s always a good reason to keep moving forward despite occasional setbacks in our lives. For example, losing a job, as bad as it may be temporarily, refocusing your mind on bigger goal may prompt your mind to look and create ideas and ways to address temporary unemployment, coming up with some ideas you had never thought of before when you were employed, and often with higher financial gain opportunities, such as finding a higher paying job or even starting your own business.

Believing in yourself and your abilities to overcome anything on your path

In addition to refocusing your way of thinking on the bigger picture and goal, the other very important ingredient in dealing with stress is to remember that you are capable of accomplishing anything that you set your mind to, and come out of any challenging situation on the top. All you need to do is remind yourself that you can, and really believe in it.

Be in control of your mind

Unfortunately, our mind usually focuses on what we cannot do, doubting our own strengths and abilities. However, please remember that we are the ones who allow thoughts to enter our mind whether they are positive and motivational or negative and doubtful. So, if you are in control of your thoughts, focusing on the positive outcome, remembering that you can accomplish anything as long as you really believe in it, you will begin looking for opportunities available to you versus continuing looking for ways to create more problems and more stress.

You control what goes into your mind and how you respond to what your mind receives. Don’t let anyone tell you what you are capable of, the only person that really knows what you are capable of is you, and you are the only person who is capable of setting or removing barriers in your life.
​

---

Enjoyed reading this modile and interested in receiving free Weekly Leadership Digest, delivered straight to your inbox with latest updates, then complete quick form at the bottom of this page and you will be on your way! It's that simple! You may also click the following link and sign up: http://eepurl.com/b0ReHz