How To Beat Stress Once And For All

The epidemic of our times is workplace stress. A colossal number of people suffer from stress. This amounts to massive losses in business, work hours and medical bills.

No one wants to be stressed out and unhappy. Stress can be beaten and is not inevitable.

Commons causes of stress

You feel overburdened at work

Rightly or wrongly so you perceive that the amount of work that you have to do is too overwhelming and that there are not enough hours in the day.

You don’t find your job challenging or exciting enough

When boredom begins to set in stress is not far behind. When what you do does not resonate with your core alignment stress manifests itself.

When you do not feel supported at work and feel pressure from co-workers

A large part of your day is spent at work. If your colleagues are unhelpful and are insular in their approach it can stress you out.

If the criticism outweighs the praise

If the feedback that your manager gives you is more negative than positive, it is sure to take a toll on you.

If the culture at work is too competitive and demanding

Though you may have signed up to achieve high targets, the pressures are still real and can lead to stress if you don’t meet expectations.

If you feel policed

If your superiors try and micro-manage you it can be debilitating and stressful.

If you are a perfectionist

Its important to give your job your best but exerting more pressure than is required just to pander to the inner perfectionist in you, can lead to stress

Insufficient salary

If your salary is not commiserated with the work you do, you may start to feel downhearted, frustrated and stressed.

No matter how you slice it or dice it stress takes a toll on your mind and body.

Chronic stress is bad news for your health. If stress hormones are triggered in your body for extended periods, they can lead to increased physical aging. Stress can wreak havoc on your brain and your performance:

How to deal with work stress

1. Plan better

Set aside a fixed time everyday and at night to plan your day and assess it at the end.

2. Make sure that the tasks you are doing are aligned with your goals

Barely knowing the tasks and goals is not enough. Prioritizing is where the key lies.

3. Identify the nature of the stressors

Evaluate if you can remove, change or accept the stressors.

Take a piece of paper and divide it into three columns. At the top, write remove in the first column, change in the second and accept in the third.

Once you know the kind of the devil you are dealing with, you can deal with it better and in most cases be able to eliminate it.

4. Work on relationships at work

Work on communication at work. Make an effort to create friendships with your colleagues. Healthy relationships with your superiors is also a good way to alleviate stress. Two-way communication is important.

5. Invest in your passions

Carve out time for yourself everyday to unwind. Clock out of work regularly. You do not want to begin resenting work. So take time off to relax and unwind in order to regain your energy and come back to work invigorated.

If in the midst of dealing with stress carving out time isn’t possible, ensure that you schedule breaks regularly through the day. Shut your eyes for a bit and deep breathe.

6. Look into your personal health

When stress hits, all your healthy habits go out of the window. Which then becomes a vicious circle.

Maintaining and even improving your health will keep your stress under control:

Eat healthy

Exercise regularly

Get enough sleep

Stress is part and parcel of work. The difference between letting the stress overcome you and coping with it is getting a head start by creating a positive environment and lifestyle.

Though nothing beats stress like the right mindset.