The stress of modern life is hard to avoid no matter how much we try. As we can find ourselves in pressure situations all too often it’s important to find ways to cope, and to restore your internal calm and balance. Here are four scientifically proven ways that can help get some zen back in your life:
See pressure as an opportunity
Instead of seeing pressure as a threat, look at it as an opportunity to challenge yourself. When you reframe the pressure of a situation as a challenge, it can change the way you react and the way you feel as a result. This can help you to find the motivation and the energy to do your best, and move past the situation.
Affirmations
Used by high-level sportspeople, this is a practice that can give you release when you need it most. Try standing in front of a mirror or closing your eyes and going through all of the good things you’ve accomplished. Focus on the positive aspects of your life - friends, family, exercise.
Visualisations
Also a tactic used by top level sportspeople, visualise a successful outcome to the thing that’s causing you to get stressed out. Repeat it a few times whenever you feel stress levels rising. Doing this can help reduce feelings of anxiety and help you to manage any situation better.
Diet and breathing
Lay off the double espresso. Reducing your caffeine intake can help by reducing the adrenaline production that caffeine consumption can result in. Also, close your eyes and focus on your breathing for five minutes – diaphragmatic breathing can help calm the mind by engaging the nervous system.
Coping with pressure often comes down to personal perspective and how much importance you place on the task you are facing. However well you perform it, the task isn’t going to affect your worth, or identity. There’ll always be other opportunities. Focus on the good things that are going on around you, and try not to sweat the other stuff.
