How to master stress and turn it into an ally?

Approximate reading time: 2m 60s

Another working day. How do you feel at this moment? Tense because of the upcoming business meetings? Worried about whether you will handle your role as a leader? Is anger boiling inside you because the tasks you assigned have not been completed on time, or perhaps you cannot catch your breath? If you answered yes, go to a mirror and take a good look at your reflection. Did you see it? Yes, exactly that which has firmly gripped you and does not want to let you go. Its name is Stress. No, do not be afraid, it does not bite… As long as you approach it in the right way. How to cope with stress.

„Stress, besides being itself, is also the cause of itself and the result of itself.“

Do you understand, its nature is a little unusual. On the one hand, it is a powerful tool that will give you strength, speed, and flexibility to overcome all kinds of difficulties. Very often people seek it out themselves, throwing themselves into extreme sports and taking on demanding tasks at work. But stress also has another, dangerous side. One that you must be extremely careful with, because it concerns your health. Confused, aren’t you? You are wondering — in the end, is stress a good thing or a bad thing? Both.

Before you panic, let us shed some light on its origin. The term "stress" was coined by Hans Selye in 1936, who defined it as „a nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed upon it”. An interesting fact is that before reaching his conclusion, Hans believed that stress meant death, and at a later stage defined it as life. The reason for this paradox is that everything comes down to how we choose to perceive it, what our attitude toward it is. The thought that stress is a problem turns it into one. In other words — you cannot overcome it if you let negative emotions take over your consciousness. Notice that the more relaxed, fearful, and despondent you are, the greater the chance of getting sick.

It is no secret that stress is at the root of every disease. The heart falls ill when blood vessels stop functioning properly, and this happens when there is unresolved stress in our subconscious. It turns out that modern medicine is fighting the body's defense mechanisms. When stress speaks instead of you, you do not work in the best possible way. When stress controls your actions, you are less effective and observant leaders. Leadership is not an easy task and sometimes it happens that you lose control. Are you wondering how to take matters into your own hands? First of all — breathe!

We know that every day you face all kinds of challenges, the need to make important decisions, forced adaptation to a different environment, and all of them push you out of your comfort zone. Leave behind the fear of failure, stop doubting your abilities, do not blame yourself. Let us give you a few good tips for mastering stress and turning it from an enemy into your loyal ally:

• The key to controlling stress is identifying it. Look for the source of your worries;
• Determine in which situations stress causes you to fail and in which it is beneficial to you;
• Under no circumstances focus on stress. Keep your mind engaged with pleasant and useful things for you;
• Avoid passing stress on to your team, and instead turn it into a driving force;
• Stress can direct you to the areas that need your attention and improvement. If you look at it as an auxiliary tool, it will increase the effectiveness of your leadership.

Time shortage is also a common problem for people in various positions, regardless of their level of professional development. You have planned tasks, but by the end of the day you still have not managed to finish them. Often you have to work outside working hours, and this also leads to unwanted stress. Of course, we cannot promise you that time will always be enough, but if you follow our advice in the online training "Time Management", you will discover many useful techniques and could avoid the stress caused by a lack of time.

It is important to have a clear awareness of what makes you happy, which part of your work brings you the greatest satisfaction. It is in your hands to create and develop the conditions in which you feel most comfortable. Learn more about burnout in the workplace and how to deal with it.

You do not need medication to deal with stress. It is all in your mindset.

And here you can learn about our training " Stress Management". It explains many of the processes that take place in your body, when and why stress is useful, YES, USEFUL!, how to overcome anger, and many other useful things...

Start thinking positively now!