Think of a time when you were face-to-face with something challenging, intense, or intimidating and you had to take action. You must have literally felt the blood rushing through your veins as your vision became clearer and you pushed through your fears to think fast and perform better than you ever have. That’s your stress response working for you!
Our stress response is our body’s evolutionary way of dealing with a challenge or danger. It’s our hidden arsenal that automatically takes over to help us thrive and survive.
While the negative effects of stress can severely impact our quality of life, the truth is, some level of stress is unavoidable. Even pleasant events like marriage, having children or starting a new job can cause it. Resisting the inevitable is like swimming against the current. The trick with stress is learning how to navigate it, instead of trying to resist it.
How then do you manage stress so that it moves from being an occasion of negativity to an opportunity for growth?
1. Reframe your perspective to change your response
If you view stressful situations as threats and assume that you don’t have what it takes to cope and that it will inevitably end in failure, chances are you will have a stronger negative reaction that can lead to physical or mental manifestations of stress.
Stress itself doesn’t cause failure, but having a defeatist or fixed mindset behind it does. When you take on challenging or stressful situations with a growth mindset, they become an opportunity to learn, grow and to build resilience and grit, instead of a hurdle preventing you from moving forward.
2. Tap into the positive impacts of stress
Stress gets a bad rap because of the negative effects it can have when left unmanaged, but nobody really talks about how some stress can act as a positive force. It can be
- A source of motivation: Without the discomfort stirred up by stress pushing us to take action, most people wouldn’t be as inclined to push their limits and leave that cosy comfort zone to change, achieve or get something done.
- A way to build resilience: Every time you experience and overcome stressors (even small ones) your brain builds resilience to be better equipped for future events. It prepares you bit by bit to learn how to move forward when the going gets tough, so instead of running away from it, engage with it with the knowledge that its purpose is to help you.
- An opportunity to improve mental performance: Acute stress has been proven to have positive effects on our cognitive mental performance as a result of our senses sharpening during stressful moments. Your body reacts to stress by releasing hormones that raise adrenaline and make your brain more alert to protect itself and help you handle the situation that’s causing stress.
3. Identify what you can control and accept what you can’t
One of the main causes of stress is resistance to the things that are outside of our control. The best thing you can do for yourself when it comes to stressful situations is to identify the things you CAN control versus those you CAN’T.
Accepting the things that cannot be changed will allow you to focus your time and energy on those that can and will help you think more clearly towards a realistic plan of action. It will also allow you to see where you can take action and find solutions instead of feeling powerless and stewing in negativity, which has zero benefits to your well being or resolving the situation. Simply stressing and worrying will not fix anything.
4. Choose your response
You cannot always choose what will happen to you or how other people will behave towards you, but you can always determine your response. Always remember to choose a positive growth mindset and respond accordingly; take the challenge, do your best and use it as a chance to level up. The more you do this consistently and intentionally, it will train your brain to make this an automatic response and it will get easier over time.
5. Look at the facts
Our perception of a situation can sometimes cause stress or fuel it. Becoming familiar with your triggers as well as your behaviour patterns when you’re stressed will help you gain perspective and differentiate if the stress really does come from an external source OR an internal one. Are you the one putting the added pressure on yourself unnecessarily through perfectionism or assumptions?
When a stressful situation comes up, stop and ask yourself: is your response based on facts and the present situation or is it being caused by a past experience or your perception of the future outcome?
6. Stop putting yourself at a disadvantage
- Stop saying yes to everything: learn to say no.
- Stop neglecting your nutrition and sleep.
- Stop neglecting exercises and proper physical activities.
- Stop neglecting periods of rest that give you time to recharge.
All these are basic things that every human (even you!) needs in order to function properly and cope with normal daily life.
7. Don’t label yourself
There is a distinct difference between saying I’m stressed and saying I feel stressed. One is identifying how you feel and the other is stating how you see yourself as a person, something that is part of your identity which will, in turn, affect how you see and cope with life overall. So, don’t limit yourself with labels.
Stress is nothing new, and while modern life has certainly complicated it, it is intended to be a helpful survival tool. By taking control over your perspective, mindset and reactions you can harness it to get you ahead instead of having it hold you down.
Source: Medium