Managing Stress

Stress is common in the workplaces today and these tensions can carry over into other aspects of life. A key reason for this is the pressure of our competitive, success-oriented age. There are pressures to perform, to meet deadlines, to do well, to perform better than the competition, to get a contract, to obtain a job, to be promoted, to look successful and so on. These pressures are too well known to need a explanation. They come within the territory to accomplish and succeed.

A little stress can be stimulating and encourage people to do even better. For example: When a speaker feels a twinge of anxiety before giving a talk, he or she usually does very well, because that small amount of stress triggers extra adrenalin, so the speaker has more energy and is primed for performing. But when the stress level gets too high, it interferes with performance – and may even make performance impossible. Instead of pushing the person to peak mental state, the extra energy becomes unmanageable and turns into a serious case of nerves. A good performance may be blocked.

By the same token, when a person worries a little about meeting a deadline, which can stimulate him or her to get on the stick and accomplish what needs to be done. But with too many worries, a person can get caught up in a vicious cycle in which these negative thoughts become the focus of attention and shut out the creative, productive thoughts that contribute to accomplishing the goal.

Thus, learning to relax and getting rid of unwanted tension becomes critical for working effectively in the workplace and having a satisfying, successful life. The key is to watch for signs that one is over tense or overstressed, and then work on creating an appropriate balance between slight tension needed to stimulate effective performance and need to be sufficiently relaxed to feel confident, composed, and carry out any task smoothly and efficiently.
How to beat the stress? Simple! Just look at things as it is and don’t allow them to stress you. For example when you are with a deadlines in mind, remember this when you get stressed things are going worse. I am sure you are aware of this and I don’t need to tell you that when you are stressed your performance is also going down. Your outcomes will not be exceptionally good and will turn out to be average. When you know that stress only deteriorates your performance, how come you still make the choice to get stressed? Its like going out to touch a live electric wire. Its stupid for someone to do something which is not so good even after knowing so. Right? What would call such a person as? Look at the mirror and ask a question to the person in front of you, “Do you also do this stupid act?” Do you also get stressed in spite of knowing that getting stressed will only lead to more confusions, reduced performances and poor results. If the answer is yes, then you know what name you need to give for yourself. I am sorry if I am harsh to use these words. But that the fact. If you were to handle any situation as it is then you would not allow stress to take control of you.

Invariably, stress is work related and you magnify it. “I am stressed” is a fashion statement for today. Remember this, an external event or any other person cannot cause you stress. The files you look at cannot cause you stress, they don’t come and tell you, “Get stressed right now”. Do they? Definitely not, which means who makes the choice for getting stressed? We make the choice and interestingly most o the times we only overreact.

So remember two important points to avoid stress 1) If you get stressed, it means that its an act of stupidity and never repeat the act again. 2) Stress is a choice made by every single human being. So do not make the same choice again. I am sure this makes sense for you to control stress. More importantly put this into action. You can also do a small poster in your work place saying Stress = Being Stupid!! I am sure you want yourself to behave and act like a stupid. Right!