A million ways to conquer stress

A heavy workload to be dealt with and that too against a deadline that compels you to race against time; chasing dreams and clearing backlog that keeps piling up. Call them occupational hazards or whatever but one is left with Hobson’s choice.

Pressures of time, space and competition will all collectively add stress to every individual irrespective of the field he is in. You cannot avoid it.

Physical and psychological exertion haunts you. At times, they give rise to escapist tendencies that make you feel like running away. Yet, it’s inevitable that you to stay on and battle it out. You have to find ways to beat stress.

Stress impacts the quality of your work and correspondingly the productivity levels. Stress irritates you and that can adversely impact the work atmosphere.

In varying degrees, everyone feels stress. However, what matters is the way you cope with it. How well you deal with it defines both your success and personality.

Thus, stress management has become integral to human resources management. Organisations conduct recreation activities and social get-togethers in order to help employees beat stress.

The ambience of the work place also matters. Stress management is largely a personal management of every individual.

Studies have established many ways of overcoming stress. Exposure to nature is among the most effective measures, particularly considering that urban habitat is creating concrete jungles.

This infuses artificiality in our lives. Break the monotony of life. Look for diversity in your activities. Mechanical life is always boring and stressful.

Identify something other than your routine work that interests you. It may be anything from gardening to dancing. Hobbies help you to get out of stress.

Earmark time for such stress-busters despite your busy professional schedule. For instance, I see mythological films as the chastity of language captivates me.

Be self-compassionate. Accept that failures and mistakes are part of life and steps you have to take to scale the success ladder.

Try not to be unduly worried or overly complacent of your shortcomings. Willingness to introspect is not just critical but paramount.

Imagine the larger picture. Place your actions in the overall context, at the larger picture. If you have to burn midnight oil while preparing for an examination, you are bound to be terribly stressed.

Spare a thought and ponder over how your life would be once you are successful in the examinations. If you are having a heavy load of work at office, you feel stressed out. But, imagine your career progression, which is a result of your diligence during those hours.

Having to take too many decisions is always stressful. Psychology calls it ‘Decision Fatigue’. Reducing the number of decisions you have to take would reduce your levels of stress.

If you are a leader and hope to take unilateral decisions, you cannot avoid stress. Believe in your people and delegate responsibilities. Keep only the critical decisions with you.

For instance, the profiles of Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg-one was most powerful man on earth while other heads the world’s most influential social media network.

I am sure they have to take million more decisions than you and I. They each wear basically the same thing every day: Obama a blue or gray suit and Zuckerberg a grey T-shirt.

I have often noticed that people waste time on taking a decision on what to wear, eat, and shop and so on. The easy way is to leave it to someone else as I do.

My wife decides what dress I have to purchase and what to wear on a particular day. My wife and children take a call on selecting a restaurant or a film. I oblige without wasting even a moment on such mundane decisions.

Plan your work and decision schedule well in advance to avoid eleventh hour glitches, which could be stressful. Such time-schedules make your life pleasantly blissful.

An abstract view of what you have to do will always be confusing. Goals have to be tangible and ideas concrete. Work has to be classified into short term and long term. Enjoy every moment of progress as you pursue your ambition. Never grope in the rubble.

Often we get terribly stressed when the results are either elusive or not to our satisfaction. Never be satisfied with what you have accomplished.

At the same time never be dissatisfied too. Whenever you are struck at a stage that is below your own expectations, don’t brood.

Rather, retrospect and rejoice at the meaningful gains you have achieved till that point in time. Mark my words, it will be refreshingly motivational.

Whenever I feel like I may not get any further breakthrough in what I am doing, I look back and enjoy the distance I have traversed. Believe me, it’s really rejuvenating and boosts one’s energy levels.

Be expressive. If you hold your emotions within you, you may get suffocated or even asphyxiated. Many feel relieved after they pour their heart out. You should have someone to share your emotions with – friends, life-partner, colleagues, or even God.

Obsession with something, especially negative feelings, can always be taxing. Many are obsessed with interpreting the problem rather than finding a solution for it.

Focus on solving things and overcoming the obstacle rather than getting trapped in the vicious circle. A positive outlook can be a good antidote to stress.