Stress

Specially dedicated to Sally! Whole day stressed up one..
And of course, any of you guys out there who are feeling so stressed up.

"STRESSSSSSSSSS AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" *pulls hair, screams, whines*
There just seems to be an incessant amount of things-schoolwork, friends, ccas, hanging out, hall life, family time, and so much more!
All of these factors, coupled with many unexpected things that can crop up or go wrong, do act as very real stressors for the brightest and most well-balanced individual.

The first step towards any possible remedy is by recognizing that stress is a very real problem all of us are facing. It IS OK to be stressed; never should the overwhelming distress we feel from Life's challenges be something we are ashamed to admit.

In fact, the physiological symptoms of stress (pounding heartbeat, sweaty palms, inability to concentrate) are your brain's natural 'flight-fright-fight' instinct in-built to motivate you. Of course, excessive long-term stress is unhealthy, as it will lead to decreased bodily resistance, heightening susceptibility to illnesses. * i know this is chim*

It is such negative stress, frequently arising from controlling and perfectionistic behavior, and leading to anxiety, irritability, anger, apathy, overcompensating or avoidance, that we need to guard against for our own welfare.
There are a few bad habits we need to resolve to help ourselves out.

Firstly, we need to stop trying to accomplish too many things at one time. Different people have different abilities, and we needn't always place others' standards as a yardstick for us to pit ourselves against.

We need to recognize individual differences between peers, and reduce the competitive behavior we have been socialized to internalize.

We should understand that this competitive streak has been a motivator in the past, acting as a reinforcer or reward in times when we had 'won', but in the long term might ultimately prove to be a trap.

In fact, management gurus tout that in order to succeed in this new economy, collaboration has been touted as the next best thing; no longer is competition a fashionable strategy to success.

It is essential therefore to learn to be positively assertive (which I shall elaborate more on in the future) in saying NO to many of the activities or commitments of our time and energy that we may ill-afford. We are all still young and have the rest of our lives ahead of us. Why should we rush to try out everything now, when the best time to experience many things may not always be right now?

Of course, in doing this, we should first carefully evaluate at each point in time what are the available options of things that need to be done, if these are consistent with our values, attitudes and life goals, and then to prioritise these items before coming up with a realistic schedule (with good intermittent behavioral self-rewards) to try to accomplish them.

We must learn to develop realistic expectations (which only we will know) for ourselves and accept that we have largely no control over the behavior of others.

It is only by facing challenges (which can be accomplished) with a positive optimism that we can facilitate optimal management of our own lifestyles.

Other behaviours that we need to guard against are procrastination, disorganization, avoidance behavior, working on all your problems alone, making impulsive decisions, and even poor self-care in terms of health and hygiene.

These are warning signs that we might be biting off more than we can chew, and some techniques we can best use to deal with life's stressors include time management, relaxation techniques, anger management and conflict resolution, critical problem solving, effective communication skills and assertiveness training.

Here are 7 useful tips that you should write down and read through daily and adopt those you feel are suitable for yourself:

1.-Think hard about what your ultimate goal is in Life and formulate a possible strategy to accomplish it, breaking down your life mission into smaller manageable tasks to keep track of your progress.

Remind yourself of this goal everyday to invigorate your life with purpose.

2.-Prioritise all your tasks according to their importance in your life (set on daily, weekly and monthly basis), work according to a realistic schedule and reward yourself along the way when you have accomplished some of them.

Remember that you at your best IS a priority for you, so build in self-care activities like exercise, family time, time for your friends, relaxation time etc.

3.-If you have a difficult task that needs to be done, do not procrastinate and avoid it but work your mindset to approach it with a positive attitude, reminding yourself how much finishing it can contribute to your life goal.

Feel the relief of having the weight off your back for unpleasant tasks that have been done, and the freedom you have earned to pursue more rewarding tasks.

4.-Be aware of your peak energy periods and capitalise on them to maximise your productivity. Rest when you know you should; do not overwork yourself and be mindful of the people around you.

At the same time, regularly review what is the best use of your time currently. Even for in-between periods, make full use of them by either accomplishing small tasks or catching up on precious relaxation time.

5.-Your time is yours. Learn to say "NO" to additional responsibilities that you aren't obligated to fulfill if you do not feel like you can afford to handle them.

You should also learn to make use of the people around you by delegating appropriate responsibilities clearly and just checking back with them instead of taking on the world yourself.

6.-The 80/20 Rule: Remember that 80% of the work is usually finished in 20% of the total time it would take to perfect the task. The remaining 80% of the time is best spent on completing other tasks which will exploit your effort more productively.

Perfection where it isn't needed is waste and you should concentrate on just completing tasks well enough to achieve what you really need. Of course, this shouldn't also be an excuse for slipshod work that needs to be revised in the future, wasting more future time.

**IMPORTANT to MANY of you guys**
7.-Lastly, don't waste time regretting; wondering "what if". Such cognitions can only cause negative emotions and waste time, so for basic decisions, just make them and move on.

Always be alert about what and how you are doing and with practice, this technique will come naturally and you will find increasing amounts of leisure time for yourself, thereby reducing the stress life can put on you.

Inspirational? can i be 2nd Dr William Tan? Guess not. That's because
me = noob; me = not possible to write such a good story. =D