shoo stress, leave me alone

Stress is very much part of my life. I thought I realized the full extent of what it did to me. I thought that it was just normal and that it will not do anything “bad” to me. In fact, I used to take pride in the fact that I worked better under duress. Then suddenly, everything just seemed to fall apart. I would get all sorts of illnesses. I would feel bad in general. I would even get depressed and too distracted.

Bottom line: stress is NOT good. Too much of it can mess up your life so bad you’d wish you were never born!

The good news is that stress can be managed – for real. Even the busiest and richest person in this world can keep his stress levels down. Here are some things which can help you get started.

Get off your butt! Yep, good old exercise can do the trick. We all know this in theory but until you actually do it, you won’t feel the effects. You don’t have to go to the gym and do hardcore routines. Even a mere 30-minute walk or swim will do the trick. Get those endorphins flowing and you’ll breeze through your work day!

Fend off negative talk. It’s simple: stop joining office bitching sessions. When something’s not right at work – and there’s always something! – people tend to make it worse by getting together and venting. Venting is good – don’t get me wrong. Getting it off your chest is a great way to de-stress. But if you do it over and over again over the same little things, you just fan the flames. And guess who’s at the losing end?

Keep it simple. When you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed, simplify things. Break huge tasks down into more manageable pieces. Take things one step at a time. You’ll get there eventually.