From: Lifehack - Tuesday Mar 27, 2018 01:14 pm
Here's a word I've been hearing a lot. Stress. Even saying the word out loud can make you feel tired and anxious. However, the stress you feel is greatly magnified by your mental state, which in turn is controlled by your mindset, or your perspective. It seems like a trivial thing, but seeing the same situation from a negative or positive perspective can give you a vastly different experience. It's similar to handling negative criticism, or understanding when to quit something that's ultimately harmful to you. Sometimes we refer to it as "healthy stress" vs. "unhealthy stress". Healthy stress is ultimately positive. It helps you grow by pushing you outside of your comfort zone in manageable chunks. Unhealthy stress on the other hand, literally takes a toll on both your physical and mental health. The most unhealthy type of stress comes from a feeling of helplessness or hopelessness, where it feels like there's no escape from the situation in sight. It's a horrible state of mind to be in! So the key to managing your unhealthy stress, or turning it into "healthy stress" is to start from your attitude towards it. To turn things around, you can start by making a conscious choice to proactively take more control back. No matter what situation you're in, there's always certain things that you can control (although it may not seem much at first). When I say control, I mean that you have the power to choose what actions to take. By starting smaller at first, you will realize that there are lot more things that you can do than you think. It's really easy to get tunnel vision under stress, so a lot of solutions are probably hanging just outside of your conscious vision! If you want to start taking back control of your stress right away, I've written a comprehensive guide. It gives you a range of practical and actionable actions from a mental, physical, and even relationship perspectives. If you're suffering from regular unhealthy stress, don't let it build up. You can change it. You can read the article here: The Definitive Guide to Cope with Work Stress (Simple and Effective) If this was helpful, I would love to hear your feedback. Any suggestions, comments, requests, or even sharing how these effect your everyday experiences are most welcome. Cheers! - Leon
