Deal With Stress: The Power of 9
Every one of us is dealing with this. Everybody knows that it's bad for health and everybody knows how to cope up with it. But do we really make the sincere efforts to deal with stress?
I would just like to draw your attention to a small story, which you might have heard sometime. A class teacher once drew the attention of his science class towards a glass full of water. He asked the class to guess the weight of the glass. Some one said 200 ml and some one said 500 ml and so on.
The teacher now lifted the glass high in air at an angle of 180 degrees and asked the class as to how long he can hold the glass. Again the surmises began ranging from 2 minutes to 2 hours depending on the strength of the teacher's hand.
And the next question was, "What will happen after 15 minutes?" One student said that the hand will start paining mildly. "And what will happen after 1 hour?" The teacher asked. The class replied that the hand will strain and can lead to leukemia too.
But right then the teacher put down the glass and asked the result. "Your hand will come to normal position after few seconds," the class said in unanimity. Now teacher explained that the glass is nothing but our mind and water is like worries. We keep carrying them till the time they lead us to disaster. And once we put them down, we are back to good health. So why carry the burden of your worries from here to there?
It is, practically, impossible to avoid stress in today's fast changing world and the reasons could be quite different. One might have got a scolding from the boss or the teacher, or one might have had a fight with a friend or a loved one. One might be unable to complete a task or might be searching for a task to complete (unemployed)... the reasons could be different but one thing is sure that everyone is stressed irrespective of his/her biological state.
However, all stress is not bad, so no need to avoid it either. There is good stress also known as "eustress" which helps indirectly. Studies have shown that one performs best under stress. The pressure to reach the deadlines makes a person perform better. But it is helpful only in short term. Thus, one must always try to avoid stress, and if not possible, direct it to positive side.
So here are some of the tips which are practical, do not consume much of your time and may help you not only in overcoming stress but also avoid it in future. These are not the ones that have been published by eminent personalities so far but these come from my
practical experience, research work and observation (while being at the workplace, which was in a service industry, long working hours and frequent scoldings, and from personal relationships both at social, personal and professional end, etc.). These are not the guidelines or the usual reading stuff but the easy and practical ways to overcome stress and avoid its negative impact. Try them...
1. Talk: Whenever stressed, talk to someone who can listen to you, may be your best friend, your mom, etc.
2. Take Deep Breaths: Sounds cliched but it works. Try it whenever you are in stress.
3. Eat, Sleep, Exercise: It's the guru-mantra, the panacea. All three in balance and stress cannot even touch you.
4. Smile: It covers a mile.
5. Recognize Your Potential: Learn to love yourself; after all you are the best.
6. Pursue Your Hobby: Don't be afraid to pursue your hobbies at any age, after all who cares.
7. Maintain a Diary: When no one is there to listen, pour out yourself on a piece of paper. You will feel lighter.
8. Take Breaks: It misguides the stress. It comes in installments and you can deal with it.
9. Listen: Very hard to practice but helps you in the long run.
These are some of the golden rules to deal with stress, call them - "The Power of 9". As it has been specified in the book, "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari," any work performed regularly for 21 days becomes a habit, so why not apply this 'Rule of 21' on these 9 golden phrases. And yes... start working now because, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
- by Gaurav Goel
Every one of us is dealing with this. Everybody knows that it's bad for health and everybody knows how to cope up with it. But do we really make the sincere efforts to deal with stress?
I would just like to draw your attention to a small story, which you might have heard sometime. A class teacher once drew the attention of his science class towards a glass full of water. He asked the class to guess the weight of the glass. Some one said 200 ml and some one said 500 ml and so on.
The teacher now lifted the glass high in air at an angle of 180 degrees and asked the class as to how long he can hold the glass. Again the surmises began ranging from 2 minutes to 2 hours depending on the strength of the teacher's hand.
And the next question was, "What will happen after 15 minutes?" One student said that the hand will start paining mildly. "And what will happen after 1 hour?" The teacher asked. The class replied that the hand will strain and can lead to leukemia too.
But right then the teacher put down the glass and asked the result. "Your hand will come to normal position after few seconds," the class said in unanimity. Now teacher explained that the glass is nothing but our mind and water is like worries. We keep carrying them till the time they lead us to disaster. And once we put them down, we are back to good health. So why carry the burden of your worries from here to there?
It is, practically, impossible to avoid stress in today's fast changing world and the reasons could be quite different. One might have got a scolding from the boss or the teacher, or one might have had a fight with a friend or a loved one. One might be unable to complete a task or might be searching for a task to complete (unemployed)... the reasons could be different but one thing is sure that everyone is stressed irrespective of his/her biological state.
However, all stress is not bad, so no need to avoid it either. There is good stress also known as "eustress" which helps indirectly. Studies have shown that one performs best under stress. The pressure to reach the deadlines makes a person perform better. But it is helpful only in short term. Thus, one must always try to avoid stress, and if not possible, direct it to positive side.
So here are some of the tips which are practical, do not consume much of your time and may help you not only in overcoming stress but also avoid it in future. These are not the ones that have been published by eminent personalities so far but these come from my
practical experience, research work and observation (while being at the workplace, which was in a service industry, long working hours and frequent scoldings, and from personal relationships both at social, personal and professional end, etc.). These are not the guidelines or the usual reading stuff but the easy and practical ways to overcome stress and avoid its negative impact. Try them...
1. Talk: Whenever stressed, talk to someone who can listen to you, may be your best friend, your mom, etc.
2. Take Deep Breaths: Sounds cliched but it works. Try it whenever you are in stress.
3. Eat, Sleep, Exercise: It's the guru-mantra, the panacea. All three in balance and stress cannot even touch you.
4. Smile: It covers a mile.
5. Recognize Your Potential: Learn to love yourself; after all you are the best.
6. Pursue Your Hobby: Don't be afraid to pursue your hobbies at any age, after all who cares.
7. Maintain a Diary: When no one is there to listen, pour out yourself on a piece of paper. You will feel lighter.
8. Take Breaks: It misguides the stress. It comes in installments and you can deal with it.
9. Listen: Very hard to practice but helps you in the long run.
These are some of the golden rules to deal with stress, call them - "The Power of 9". As it has been specified in the book, "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari," any work performed regularly for 21 days becomes a habit, so why not apply this 'Rule of 21' on these 9 golden phrases. And yes... start working now because, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."