Stress Management…is there really such a thing? Can a person really put stress and management in the same sentence? Yes, they can! Before we begin, let’s just define stress in itself.
Stress is a combination of many things such as events and circumstances that people experience and their mental and physical reaction to those things. It can also be defined, technically, as "a condition in which one feels that demands have exceeded social and personal resources available to them".
Therefore, stress management can be aptly identified as our ability to have some form of control of our reactions to the events and circumstances that cause us stress. Perception seems to be the common denominator when categorizing stress.
Stress Management is most effective when the person feels that they still have some form of control and/or the ability to obtain a form of control. It is a way to cope with work burdens, people problems, environmental issues, jobs, and performance in a wide variety of topics.
However, there will be times when actually taking control of a situation, physically, is not possible and one must handle stress with an emotional approach. This form of stress management can be of equal value to the person, but is not as easy.
The hardest approach to stress management can be accepting things as they are and moving on. It is a very difficult situation to understand stress and how to survive it. Some will strive on stress and excel, while others stagnate and fall prey to it.
It’s the timeless advice to accept that which you cannot change, work to change those that you can and the wisdom to know the difference. It is this wisdom that brings about the ability to cope and the ability to live stress free. As part of a person’s personal development and especially in a management or business ownership position, being able quickly to determine whether a situation warrants strength to deal with it or the ability to look beyond it.
One of the simplest methods to look beyond the moment. During a situation, you must have the capability to step back to become an objective observer, asking yourself if the situation will have any affects beyond the moment. Essentially, if it is not going to matter tomorrow, there is no reason to stress over it today.
The difficult part is being to step back and become an observer rather than the target of the stressful situation. However, it cam also become confused with blocking out the reality of the situation, leading to an important problem being ignored as opposed to being handled appropriately.
You have probably heard the phrase, fight or flight associated with dealing with stress. Typically, when confronted with danger, as some perceive stress to be, they will either stand and fight or simply turn and run…take flight. In most instances of flight, the stress will remain when they come back to land, sometimes presenting a worse circumstance.
As a simplified example, consider a late bill payment and no money to make the payment. The person can fight…call the creditor and reach some compromise on the payment’s timing, or take flight…ignore the bill and hope it goes away. The fight option, or facing the obligation, may be difficult, but the outcome will be more beneficial. Typically, bills…or other problems, will not simply disappear when ignored. They usually remain, often with a more difficult or extreme outcome.
The first step in dealing with stress is to determine your individual personality. Are you willing to stand up to the present circumstance and learn to control its outcome? Or, are you willing to allow the outcome to be determined by someone or something else?
Taking charge of situations that affect you personally will help you understand your range of control and help you recognize when being in control is not an option. Once you have developed that understanding, you will have a better chance of reducing your stress level as well as making it work for you.
