In this blog, I want to share with you 3 steps to not only deal with stress and defuse it, but to also use it to drive you forward and achieve success.
This is part 4 of my ‘How to Succeed’ series, so make sure you check that out if you haven’t already.
Step 1. Start seeing stress as helpful
Dealing with stress is a part of life that everyone experiences at some point, yet you don’t know how to use it.
In fact, most will try and tell you that stress is bad and that you need to get away from it. But this will stop you from feeling able to achieve anything, do anything or even just relax.
By busying yourself doing something else, this will just defer that stressful feeling for later on and will also impact everything else you do.
This is why when you can feel stressed and unable to do anything without that stressful feeling pervading your life. So, rather than seeing stress as something getting in the way, let’s start building a healthy relationship with it.
This, in turn, will help you to not only get the important stuff done but lead you to feel more in control of your life.
Step 2. Use a different label for stress
The word stress is tied with so many negative feelings that you can feel bound by its negativity.
In order to feel motivated by it, you need to relate to that feeling in a more positive way. For me, dealing with stress is really important. I connect to stress as a message, letting me know that I’m doing something important . So, I use that as motivation to work harder to get it right and get it done.
What you are able to do so far is re-label the way you relate to stress.
Step 3. Dealing with stress needs acceptance
The final step is to accept that this is a process that is going to take time but to keep going.
It can take a while to relate to stress as something which is positive rather than negative. You might slip up a few times, but ensure you learn from your mistakes and eventually, it can get easier and manageable.
Now, I welcome that stressful feeling as I associate it with feeling motivated.
What I want you to take away from this, is that you have more control over stress than you think.
So, start using it to motivate and drive you rather than leaving you feeling sad and disempowered.