We all know of this. Its presence accompanies us through a lot of different times of our lives – sometimes more, sometimes less. But if you decide to ignore the signals your body gives you, you’re letting stress get the upper hand. This can lead to severe health issues such as tinnitus, burnouts and even strokes. So if you find yourself in the situation of constantly having to rush from appointment to appointment and you realize that stress has invaded not only your working life but also your private life, stop and listen. You need to find time for yourself to balance it all out.
The most common triggers for stress are:
- Avoiding conflicts in order to keep everybody happy
- Aiming for unreachable ideals
- Not taking time for yourself
- Letting others pressure you to do everything by yourself
Did you catch yourself nodding along to the last few lines? Well, then I have the right antidote for you. Here are a couple of tips to help you prevent stress, and the best thing is, you can easily incorporate them into your daily life.
- Plan your day
It may sound like a lot of work but this will help you relax, I swear. The fact that you have complete control over your day will prevent high stress levels. First, take on something that seems easy to you; then tackle something you hate the most to get it out of your way. After that, you’ll find yourself going smoothly through the next few things on the agenda. In that way you successfully motivate yourself to actually tick some things off of your agenda.
- The four W-questions
In Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” he lists out the four W questions for preventing stress:
- What’s the problem?
- What causes the problem?
- Which solutions can be found?
- What’s the best solution?
If you reflect on your problem at hand with the aid of these four questions, you may stumble upon ideas that can actually change the situation you’re in. Most of the time the solution is to delegate work instead of trying to do everything by yourself.
- Treat yourself
How, you may ask? Well, you could opt for a nice relaxing bath, a long conversation with your friend or simply a good meal. After a stressful day you should definitely treat yourself and do something that makes you happy.
- Get some space when it gets stressful
Whenever you feel like a conflict is getting out of hand especially whilst both parties may be in rage, nothing good will come of it. The best thing you can do in those types of situations is to give each other space. Go outside, close the door and breathe. Calm yourself and once you’re calm, you will be able to see things much more clearly. Time will also improve your ability to find solutions.
- Give yourself a break
Grant yourself small breaks throughout the day. Be aware of your day and come back to the here and now. To achieve that, do some breathing exercises. Especially during the evening, why not try out some relaxing techniques as well as autogenous training to reduce stress.
- Power yourself out.
If you have built up a lot of stress within yourself, you need a way to vent it all out. Workouts and gym sessions work wonders, believe me. That goes especially so for disciplines that involve a high level of cardio such as Zumba, boxing or running – they will help you really power yourself out. Tai Chi and Yoga are also recommended for burning off stress.
Have a beautiful and stress-free week, guys!
Yours truly,
Lucy
Image source: http://www.feelingsoulgood.com
