Oh crap, it's Monday morning - THE STRESS. Here's what you do.
Whenever stress pops up, there is a panic station in my brain goes into turbo mode.
Like this:
“Oh holy crap, I am stressed. I shouldn’t be stressed. Stress is bad. How do I get rid of this? This is stressing me out. Aaaahhhhhhhhh.” I.e the feedback-loop-from-hell.
Besides the physical response in our brain, stress is basically us saying, “I am wanting something to be the way that it isn’t”. When you look at like stress that way, it ain't all that scary.
Many of us try to live our lives so that we can have as little stress as possible. But limiting stress is also limiting opportunities and experiences.
That’s all good and dandy, but what can you do about it?
Well,
1. Don’t freak out when you’re stressed
When you realise your stressed about something, ask yourself, “What am I wanting to be the way it isn’t?”
Once you are able to identify what it is exactly, you can move into practical mode.
Stress makes us feel out of control, so once we can get a game plan together, we immediately take back control.
Ask yourself:
How do I want it to be?
What can you do now to start the process of changing it into the way you want it?
2. We can stress because we feel it is (somewhat) productive, but in effect doing something about it is, well, productive.
3. Classify your stress.
Once you know what you’re stressing about, ask yourself whether it is GOOD stress or BAD stress?
GOOD stress = you feel alert, on peak performance, and like you’re (almost) ready to smash the task.
BAD stress = you feel out of control, anxious, trying to change something that you actually just need to accept, or get out of the situation.
If you realise it’s GOOD stress - breathe and keep going.
If you realise it’s BAD stress - breathe, get out of the situation (even temporarily), or find a way to accept it as best you can. Or do your best to change it.
Stress isn’t bad. It’s when you stress about stressing that the crap hits the fan.
If you need help in getting out of your feedback-loop-from-hell or just finding ways to deal with stress, send me a message so that I can help you live with peace, opportunity and as much GOOD stress as you want :)