Everybody deals with stress once in a while.
Stress at work, Stress in a relationship, stress in the family or among friends.
But the key factor we have to keep in mind when dealing with it is: we create stress ourselves!
Stress is entirely made up in our own heads!
Whatever is making you feel stressed, might not stress another person at all. This already proves that stress is a very personal concept we make up in our own minds.
Most stress comes from time pressure that we put on ourselves.
We often think that we only have so little time to do something, and also that it has to be absolutely perfect when we complete it.
But a lot of the time, that's not the case.
Of course, we might have strict deadlines at work or college which you can't really get around (only by planning your time perfectly!), but in our personal lives we stress ourselves way too much because we don't ask for the real deadlines.
If a family member asks you to do something within a week - you can tell them you're currently quite busy and ask when the real deadline would be.
When would be the point where they actually need your input and can't wait on it any longer?
The answer will probably be several days later.
Use your time effectively.
We all know that procrastination feels good at first, but creates more stress in the end. You don't have to put yourself through this!
Manage your time, schedule and plan ahead, and always take some time buffer into your consideration as well.
But the effective use of time is not only meant for tight deadlines - this is a concept you should keep in mind everyday.
You can finish many things enough quicker if you work more concentrated and effectively, therefore giving you more time.
By scheduling your day, you don't have any breaks where you sit around not knowing what to do or being bored.
If you use your day more effectively, you will be surprised how much more time you can get to finish all your tasks easily!
Another stress factor we burden ourselves with is that we often assume things are much more important than they actually are.
Recap in your mind what you were stressed about in the last few weeks.
Things like needing to clean the house, an appliance breaking down, finishing a certain project, running errands or doing paperwork stress us out - but are they really that important?
You probably don't need to get them done right away, and also it wouldn't be the end of the world if you someho didn't make it.
When you stress about cleaning your house, remember how blessed you are to live in a sheltered house with food in the fridge!
When you're actually feeling stressed out, the first thing you should control is your breathing.
Take several deep breaths and calm down. Take a step back from the situation and realize that whatever stresses you is probably not that big of a deal and not worth stressing over so much.
Take a walk, get some fresh air and some distance from the situation to clear your head!
Meditation is also a great way to calm down and focus on what's really important.
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