4 Steps in Making Stress Your Friend
By Mikkie Mills
Stress is a fact of life. You can’t run from it, no matter how hard you try. The trick is finding a way to deal with it in such a way that you can be happy and successful. Luckily, in just a few steps, you can make the stress seem manageable. As a matter of fact, stress can even become your friend as it helps you kill it in all aspects of your life.
Step 1
The first step into becoming truly happy and successful, is accepting that there will be hard moments where you may feel stressed out. Life gets hard sometimes, but keep in mind that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. Rainy days happen to everyone, but the most important thing is to acknowledge what is causing the problem and finding the solution. You got a bad grade? Study harder for the next one. You’re not happy with your job? Find a better one. The storm will eventually pass. Don’t let your emotions control your mind, ever. Always analyze the situation before reacting and you will live very successfully in your relationships and in the business world. Brush off any negative feelings and turn them into positive ones. Knowing that you will eventually not feel your best, allows you to overlook it and help you try to handle it successfully.
Step 2
The second step is knowing that it’s normal. As long as you keep that mentality, you will always be the best you. Stress is normal. According to psychologist Kelly McGonigal, people who believed stress was harmful to them had a 43% chance of dying, while people who believed stress wasn’t bad for them had the lowest risk of dying. How crazy is that? You must always remember that you can make stress your friend. Stress causes sweat, rapid breathing, and heart palpitations. People usually get very nervous and stressed out because they are feeling stress itself. These feelings can be thought of as a helpful source of energy, allowing your body to overcome a challenge. It is important to understand that challenges are going to be faced down the road eventually, whether it’s with your family, your relationship, school, or at work. It is unrealistic to believe that one will always feel happy no matter what. However, if you turn those negative feelings into positive ones, it can help a tremendous amount. It can even make you feel like a fresh pair of Christian Louboutin heels.
Step 3
The third step in transforming your stress is not allowing anyone or anything to get in between you and what you want to be. You are the author of your own life and no one else should write it for you. Always keep a strong mentality that you are in control of your own destiny. Never second guess yourself because of others opinions, because their opinions don’t matter. Believe in loving and accepting yourself, nobody will ever get in the way of your future this way. Letting other people get into your mind, could potentially create a feeling of uncertainty and guide you in the wrong direction. Where you believe you want to be is where you should aspire to be. Always do what makes you happy, there’s nothing more relieving than that. Your real friends will always support you and guide you in the right direction. Don’t change for others. Motivate yourself to be a better you for you every day. There’s always room for improvement because in the end, nobody is perfect.
Step 4
The fourth step is to believe in yourself. If you live your live doubting yourself, there will always be a bad outcome. Instead, believing in yourself will naturally motivate you into becoming the person you grow to be. Keep those positive thoughts in mind and be confident. Nobody can take that away from you. Don’t rely on other people, you should only rely on yourself to work for what you want. Take any opportunity and believe that you can. Trust me, it will give you that extra push to prosper. Mistakes may happen along the way, but just learn from them. Doubting yourself will only add extra stress on your shoulders that you don’t need. People may try to get in your way, but you have to remain positive in order to get to where you want to be. Believing in yourself will take you beyond the high road.
Overall, stress can seem like a horrible thing, but in the end, it can be your best friend. You can reach a point where stress will hit you like a brick wall and you will embrace that brick wall with all the confidence in the world without it affecting you in any way. You can overcome stress and embrace it to make it work for you to help push you to be your best. Follow these steps, and you can do it.
About Mikkie Mills: “I’m a Chicago native who loves to share her expertise about personal development and growth. When I’m not writing, I’m chasing the little ones around or rock climbing at the local climbing gym.” More articles by Mikkie.
