What are your favourite stress management techniques?
The techniques described here take time to cultivate, but is well worth your effort. The ultimate objective being to develop a habit of these techniques - so that it becomes second nature to you.
As a career builder newbie, I urge you to start developing some of these stress management techniques in order to manage the stress you will experience as you climb the corporate ladder.
1. Greet People Warmly
Greeting people warmly especially in the morning is important to manage stress. You wonder why? Have you ever noticed how some people come in the office grumpy? It is almost as if, they have decided that they will be stressed out that day. When you greet someone warmly in the morning, it says you have decided that you will start a great day. Imagine starting a day on the low and watch it get worse!
2. Be Conscious Of Your Behaviour
Being conscious of your behaviour means to be conscious of how you feel and act. It is the trigger in your mind that says “I am getting impatient with this discussion. And I am going to raise my voice.” Once you are mindful of your actions you can choose to react in a more positive fashion. Now, you may ask – how can I be conscious of my actions if I am in the middle of an argument with someone? Well, it takes practice. Just as we practice a certain sport prior to an important tournament.
3. Be Conscious Of Our Breath
Taking deep breaths and counting is a popular stress management technique. In this particular one, my variation is to be conscious of my breath. Whenever I feel stressed, I excuse myself if I am in the company of others and walk away. While walking away to the washroom for example, I concentrate on my breath touching the tip of my upper lip. And I consciously slow my breath down while concentrating on it. It takes the negative thoughts out of my mind.
4. Reviewing The Positive
Create a habit of reviewing the positive that has happened throughout the day. The idea is to cultivate the habit of looking at the positive. Instead of crashing in front of the television when you reach home, spend five to ten minutes reviewing what nice things others have done for you. The kind deed others have done that made your day turn out great. I practice this while being stuck in traffic. It kills two birds with one stone, it allows me to review the positive and takes my mind off the traffic situation at the same time.
5. Letting Go The Negative
Let’s face it - we are but mere mortals. We will make mistakes while trying to cultivate these habits to manage stress. In reviewing the positives, we should also be conscious of the negative that we have done. Maybe we did not realize it earlier in the day. It could be something nasty we have said to someone. Realize this and “cleanse” yourself by flushing away the misdirected actions. Do this by forgiving yourself and remind yourself that you will not do it again.
Admittedly, these 5 stress management techniques take time to cultivate. Make a decision to start today and watch your stress greatly reduced as time goes by.
