Do you often feel stressed out?
Many of us accept anxiety, worry, and stress as normal. If this is you, you might actually get upset with other people if they don’t get stressed and worried with you. You mistake their calm state as a sign that they don’t care.
You may think that you have to get stressed out under pressure to get the job done, but in reality, you’ll be more effective if you don’t. Not only are you less productive when your stress levels are high, but it affects your entire team. A stressed-out state of mind causes you to make poor decisions, it makes you more susceptible to illness, and it causes others around you to get stressed out as well.
The good news is there’s a lot you can do to overcome this kind of thinking. Stress is not something you have to accept as normal.
Sometimes we experience stress because we’re overtaxed or we’re going through a stressful situation in life, but what I’m talking about here is more of a chronic state of stress that stems from worry and anxiety-filled thoughts. Although there can be physical reasons why someone might experience anxiety and it is important to get help from a doctor in these cases, we can also work on our thought lives to combat stress and anxiety.
Often, it’s about choosing a different focus. You don’t have to continue with a train of thought just because it pops into your head. You can choose to derail that negative line of thinking by replacing it with more positive thoughts.
Whenever you find yourself focusing on the negative, turn your focus toward the solution instead of the problem, the good attributes of a person instead of the bad and think about what you are grateful for in life. You could also keep a few quotes or words of encouragement handy that you can read to yourself whenever you’re feeling stressed.
I’ll leave you with a few of these quotes to get you started:
“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? … So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” – Jesus
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” – Deepak Chopra
“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength—carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” – Corrie ten Boom
Leon Fontaine is internationally renowned for his ability to equip people with skills for life. He is the CEO of Miracle Channel and senior pastor of Springs, a contemporary church with six campuses across Western Canada. Visit www.leonfontaine.com for more great articles as well as weekly videos and podcasts. Email your comments to [email protected].
