Feeling the Year-End Stress? 10 Proven Ways to Make A Stressful Time Better

   

 

 

 

 

We all have stressful periods. Perhaps it's the December deadline deluge, chronic staffing issues, or there's a serious systems issue impacting the customer experience.

Whatever the reason, stressful times are part of life. However, we can choose how we react to them.

One option is to dwell on the situation, and let our negative emotions persist throughout the day. But this is unpleasant, and there's a good chance that our mood will spread to others. Instead, we can take the initiative and find ways to make a stressful day better. This choice is empowering and positive, and it puts us in control of our actions and emotions.

 

I invite you to take a few minutes to experiment with any of these ten ways to make a bad day better.

1. Give The Matter The Attention It Deserves. Whenever nonsense shows its face in my life I won’t spend time thinking about it or dwelling on it . . . when I'm able, I simply move on. Granted there are some things that you can’t dismiss and that’s where items 2-10 will come in handy!

2. Try To Find Humor . . . in either the event or just think about something funny to get you laughing. Can’t think of something? Why not listen to some comedy and while you’re at it, have a comedy playlist on your phone for those “Momma said there would be days like this” moments!

3. Try Doing an Activity That Requires A High Level Of Focus.  I’m a truly awful woodworker. I’m the kind of guy who will measure five times, cut once, and still screw it up most of the time. But after sitting on my tuchus in front of a computer and in Zoom meetings most of the day it’s really relaxing to do something with my hands. Plus, the required focus of doing something precise like woodworking (not to mention trying not to cut off a finger) forces me to stop thinking about work. Even if I just have an hour or less, it lowers the stress.

4. Move! Motion creates emotion because certain types of movement release endorphins which create that “runners high”. You can walk, exercise, pace, or do the Hokey Pokey as I often do in the offices of SMARTDevelopment. (What if the Hokey Pokey is really what it's all about? 😏)

5. Engage Your Spiritual GPS! Certain things are simply beyond us and we need all the help we can get.

6. Say “Thank You.” I’ll preface this one with a firm “I know how difficult it can be to do this” We’re saying thank you because we are about to receive a lesson in something. Whether it be in dealing with a Grade A Jerk or a lesson in keeping ourselves calm, cool and collated as our printers at Office Depot like to say!

7. Go through a “Gratitude Inventory.” Many of us have the bad habit of taking a “Screw You” inventory of everything that stinks in our life. A gratitude inventory gets you in into a frenzy of positivity!

8. Talk With Someone! Briefly vent. Then, shift the conversation to solutions! (See item 9)

9. Ask Yourself Problem Solving Questions Such As. In what ways can I _______________?” “How can I turn this around?” “Who do I know that could help or offer advice?” "What am I missing?" or my favorite, "What else can I/we do to solve this?...then ask it a few more times.... "And what else...?"

10. Embrace Each Problem as a Potential Opportunity. Problems are wake-up calls for creativity. If we choose to wake up and get up, problems will prompt us to use our abilities, rally our resources, and move forward. When we have the right attitude, adversity causes us to draw on and develop greater strength.  

In the wise words of Winston Churchill “If you are going through hell, keep going.” 😅

To your greater ease and well-being,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

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