Finals are coming up at my university and it’s easy to see that stress levels on campus have spiked. Stress is something that we all must deal with, but it doesn’t have to be debilitating. Instead, stress can be a force that constructively helps us move forward and do our best work.
I used to get stressed and completely lose my mind. The assignments and tests would start to stack up in my head and pretty soon some mental load-bearing arch would give way and I would have a break down. That hasn’t happened to me for quite some time. That’s because I’ve learned how to manage my own stress and not only live through stressful times such as finals, I’ve learned to thrive in them.
Here are three ways that I have learned to deal with stressful times and how you can transform stress from a debilitating force to a constructive one.
1. Believe in Yourself
No one is going to get you through this stressful time except for yourself. Other people can help, but ultimately, it’s up to you to get everything done and succeed. If you don’t have a strong confidence in yourself this reality can be crushing. But, if you truly believe in yourself and are confident in your abilities, realizing that it is all up to you is a freeing and enlivening realization.
Sometimes it can be hard to believe in yourself, especially with deadlines looming and a grade on the line. But take a look back in your life. Haven’t you gotten through and overcome everything else that has come your way? You obviously have, you’re not dead yet! Think about other times when you were stressed and pushed through it. Think especially about those times where you did well and succeeded. Think about how you felt at the end of those experiences; the pride, the joy, the happiness. Remember that you did those hard things and you can do hard things again!
What if you’ve failed in the past and you’re worried about failing again. Again, think about those failures and what you learned from them. Now, remember that it you’ve only completely failed if you didn’t learn anything from so start applying those lessons you’ve learned! Remember that failure is a great teacher and it has been your teacher, you are now smarter and wiser and have an increased capacity to deal with whatever obstacle and stresses you are currently facing.
A strong belief in yourself can turn even the debilitating stressful experience into an experience in which you can thrive.
2. Get Perspective
One thing that always helps me is taking a step back and trying to look at the bigger picture. See beyond the timeline of the things that are stressing you out and look at life with a larger perspective.
Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Failing right now is not going to kill you, even if the worst happens and you lose your scholarship or must postpone graduation. And even if worst comes to worst, it is not final. I’ve been reading Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferris and one of the 11 questions he asks over 100 of the world’s most successful people is how a failure or an apparent failure has led to later success and I’ve seen a pattern. Every successful person has faced failure, but many times these failures lead and prepare you for something greater.
Look at your current situation from a greater perspective. In the grand scheme of your entire life, what’s stressing you out is probably not going be long lasting or life altering, it is transient, and it will pass.
By constantly gaining perspective you will not only get through stress, you will thrive in it.
3. Get out of your head and into your body
Another pattern I’ve seen from Tribe of Mentors, and something that has helped me greatly, is getting out of my head and into my body through exercise. One of the questions that Tim asked was how people deal with feeling overwhelmed and unfocused and many of the responses had something to do with exercise.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, do something physical. Exercise releases endorphins, chemicals that act as natural painkillers, which make your body feel better. If your body feels better, your mind will feel better too.
Do whatever you’re comfortable with, whether that is going to the gym, going for a run, or simply going for a walk around the block. By getting your body moving you will mentally take a break from the things are stressing you out and feel way better!
These three strategies, when combined, can be a huge help in doing more than simply pushing through stress, they can help you thrive in it. This is not an end all list of things, and it’s not meant to be, but it is a start.
I promise you that as you believe in yourself, gain perspective, and get out of your head and into your body you will learn to use stress as an advantage and learn to thrive in it.