Are you the kind of person who thrives in a crisis, or the kind that becomes a gibbering mess? The kind who inspires confidence when the chips are down, or the kind that yells and screams – making everyone want to jump ship? If you answered yes to the latter scenarios, your inability to cope with stress could be killing your chances of promotion.
Yellow stress ball image from Shutterstock
With a few simple strategies, however, you CAN learn to keep your cool under pressure and become the go-to-person when things don’t go to plan. Here’s how:
#1 Identify your triggers
Do you fear public speaking? Are you underprepared? Are you afraid of failure? The first step to conquering your fears is to own them.
#2 Change your perspective
View signs of stress — the sweaty palms, shortness of breath, accelerated heart-rate etc – as just your body’s way of gearing up for show-time, like an elite athlete before a major event. Then harness that nervous energy for a killer performance.
#3 Stay positive
Retrain your thought process to be kinder to yourself. As soon as negative thoughts start filtering in, cut them off before they have the chance to sprout like poisonous weeds. Visualise resounding success, not crushing failure!
#4 Avoid negativity
Stay away from people who suck all the joy out of life. Prepare a list of quick getaway excuses you can use to guard against being pulled into their negativity spiral.
#5 Write down your worries
Take time out to put your fears or concerns down on paper. Studies prove just the act of writing them down steals most of their power.
#6 Centre Yourself
Practice meditation, do Tai Chi or learn to control your breathing (deeply and evenly) — find and implement the relaxation regimen that calms your nerves or gets anger issues under control.
#7 Cut down on the coffee
Caffeine increases the release of adrenaline which is the body’s “fight or flight drug”. That’s fantastic when you’re running away from a lion, but not so great when you’re about to do a power-point presentation.
#8 Build your confidence
The more you do something, the more ingrained it becomes and the easier it gets. Buttoning your shirt in the morning doesn’t make you break out in a cold sweat does it? No. Why? Because you’ve done it so many times you could do it with your eyes closed. The same applies to the things that scare you at work.
#9 Sleep
Lack of zzzz’s can make you cross, jumpy, emotional, more susceptible to stress and unable to deal well with change.
#10 Use your support systems
You don’t have to do everything yourself. If you truly do have more work than one person can possibly be expected to complete, learn to say no – or better yet – delegate. If you’re on your own, try hiring a virtual assistant or contract out labour jobs that don’t require your specific expertise.
Don’t forget:
- The first step to conquering your fears is to own them.
- Retrain your mind to shut down negativity.
- Lack of sleep will make everything worse.
- Find a relaxation strategy that works for you.
This article originally appeared on The Naked CEO
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