Manage Stress with a Positive Attitude

Maintaining resilience and combating stress are major issues for a man. There is a natural tendency in all of us to react emotionally when our expectations are frustrated in any way. When something we wanted and hoped for fails to materialize, we feel a temporary sense of disappointment and unhappiness.

The optimistic person, however, knows how to manage stress in difficult situations and soon moves beyond this disappointment. He responds quickly to the adverse event and interprets it as being temporary, specific and external to himself. The optimist responds with a positive attitude, knows how to manage stress and counter the negative feelings by immediately reframing the event so that it appears positive in some way.

Since your conscious mind can hold only one thought at a time, either positive or negative, if you deliberately choose a positive thought to dwell upon, you keep your mind optimistic and your emotions positive. Since your thoughts and feelings determine your actions, you will tend to be a more constructive person, and you will start moving forward and more rapidly toward the goals that you have chosen.

It all comes down to the way you talk to yourself on a regular basis. In our courses of problem solving and decisions making, we encourage people to respond to problems by changing their language from negative to positive. Instead of using the word problem, we encourage people to use the word situation.  You see, a problem is something that you deal with. The event is the same. It’s the way you interpret the event to yourself that makes it sound and appear completely different.

Even better than situation is the word challenge. Whenever you have a difficulty, immediately reframe it, choose to view it as a challenge, and start moving forward.  Rather than saying, “I have a problem,” say, “I have an interesting challenge facing me.” The word challenge is inherently positive. It is something that you rise to that makes you stronger and better. It is the same situation, only the word that you are using to describe it is different.

The best of all possible words to maintain a positive attitude and manage stress is the word opportunity. When you are faced with a difficulty of any kind, instead of saying, “I have a problem,” you can say, “I am faced with an unexpected opportunity.”  And if you concentrate your powers on finding out what that opportunity is—even if it is only a valuable lesson—you will certainly find it. As the parable says, “Seek and ye shall find, for all who seek find it.”

Tips to Manage your stress:

• Change your perception. You must learn how to form healthier attitudes and beliefs by knowing what your personal strengths are, letting go of what you can’t control, and branch out to your support network. Your support network could be anything - a blog or an online friend or group that are easily accessible.
• Eat better. Make sure you are eating a healthy, balanced diet. It will not only make you feel better physically, but can help combat stress-related problems.
• Work out. Exercising does more than help you look trimmer; it also fights stress. When you are exercising you are releasing endorphins which help to give you a more upbeat outlook. It also gives you a healthy outlet to dissipate tension and mental fatigue. One way to incorporate exercise into your work day is to leave your computer for 30 minutes and go for a walk outside; the fresh air will help clear your head.
• Stop. Smell the roses. It is difficult to relax when you are consumed with stress, therefore you must find something that relaxes you. Find different relaxation and meditation methods that will oppose your body’s reaction to stress which can help you calm down. Relax on the computer by listening to music, looking at old photos, or even searching YouTube for funny videos, anything that frees your mind.
• Take time to make time. Time management is key. If you have a lot of things to do, don’t spend time worrying about what you have to do. Make a schedule for yourself and try to stick to it. Prioritizing will help you replace mere activity with accomplishment. Make a list on your computer or use the scheduling reminders on OutLook to help stay organized.
• Learn about different behavior styles. In other words, 'Don’t poke the bear'. Be armed with a better understanding of behavior styles that differ from your own. Many of our IT clients are mainly left-brained. This could mean that they are more likely to be orderly, analytical (especially factual analysis), sequential, or logical in their thinking. Knowing small things like this about your co-workers can help you approach workplace problems.
• Be assertive. Have confidence! When you stand-up for yourself, you are building your self esteem which pushes stress to the side. See where you can improve in the assertive, aggressive, and passive behaviors.

In order for any of these steps to work you must be proactive. You must take care of yourself in order to maintain your resilience.