Stress is an inevitable part of life, but how you deal with stress determines the level of your success. The more tools that you have for dealing with stress and fear, the more confident and able you will become to achieve your goals. These 10 tips will help you to move past stress and fear quickly and confidently:
1) Stop! It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. However, often, under stress people end up working harder using failed strategies and wonder why they are not getting more of what they want. Taking a step back to look at the situation will help you see if what you’re doing is part of the problem.
2) Check your “road map.” One of the characteristics of stress is that it causes confusion and disorientation. Under pressure, people often flail about and lost their direction. Get clear about your goals and where you want to go to cut through the fog of fear. Write down exactly what you want to accomplish.
3) Check your belief system. Watch out for beliefs such as “I can’t”, “I’ll never” “There’s no way.” Challenge these negative beliefs by asking the following question: “Is this belief always true?” and “Has there ever been a time that I thought I couldn’t do something, and I did it anyway?”
4) Stay open to a solution. There is nothing more stressful then feeling stuck and that there is no way out of a problem. A powerful way to program your mind to move past stress is to stay open to the idea that although you cannot see it yet, a solution to your problem exists, and it will appear.
5) Make a list of your assets. Take a few minutes, and write down all of your assets, including financial assets, connections and talents. Focus on what you do have rather then what you don’t have.
6) Do what scares you the most. After you’ve figured out what the right thing to do is, dive right into what frightens you the most. Nothing beats diving into the “deep end of the pool.” Once you do the thing that scares you the most, you take the energy out of fear and stress.
7) Schedule your stress. Set aside 10 minutes every day and allow yourself to “stress out” as much as possible during those ten minutes. This frees up the rest of your day for taking positive action.
8) Be of service. Focus on how you can serve others, instead of how you will get what you want. Stress and fear have an inward focus. When you focus outward on helping others, your stress and fear will dissipate.
9) Clown around. Develop a sense of the zany and absurd. There is always something funny about every situation. Remember, you are laughing in spite of your problems, not at them. Laughter will give you a sense of perspective.
10) Be open to support. Life is not a “do-it-yourself” project. The people who suffer the most are the ones who suffer alone. Often, all it takes is the counsel of a good friend or support person to help you see a solution that has been in front of you all the time. Truly strong people know when they need others.
Follow the above 10 tips, and practice them often, and you will be well on your way from moving from stress to success!
