An insightful journey into personality
A good beginning would be to start substituting negative thoughts for positive ones.
Practice optimism and adopt a positive outlook. Gloomy thoughts tend to pile up, stranding you in a sea of negativity.
Feeling that you are not in control acts to aggravate stress, therefore it is useful to adopt a mentality that continually seeks solutions. Such an attitude is in itself empowering and can maintain wellbeing. When at work, and in your everyday life, look to take a practical approach and figure out what you can actually change.
If the situation involves a conversation that you have been avoiding, remember that you have control over what you say and how you say it. Taking a head-on approach will make it easier to deal with situations that can only get become more stressful the longer they are left unresolved.
If you are concerned about job security or an upcoming promotion, you may take control by performing your duties more attentively, and by exhibiting more initiative or leadership in your work. Remember that regardless of whether you feel responsible for a particular outcome, you still control your reaction to that outcome. Therefore, despite your best efforts, if you lose your job or the promotion, it's still up to you to conduct an effective job search or to explore further options that will expand your expertise.
As far as dating is concerned, you cannot impose a good first impression; respectful behavior and an impeccable presentation, however, will go a long way.
Regarding health issues, you may not actually control adversity; however, you are in control of numerous variables such as diet and exercise, which in many cases, act preventively.
If you are perpetually late for your dance class, instead of enduring the futility of clicking your fingers to make the traffic disappear, remember that you are in control of allotting enough time for your journey.
You may be hesitant to take control because you believe that your actions will have little effect. In this case, it could be helpful to discuss with others, whether these beliefs are irrationally low. It might also be helpful to think about instances in the past where you took control of the situation and made a tangible difference.
If you have relinquished control due to previous failures, give it another shot! Many historical inventions and success stories owe their existence to determination and persistence.
Generally speaking, you will find it both beneficial and empowering to rationalize events in terms of cause and effect, and take control rather than to leave things to chance continually. Look to avoid a 'what will be will be' attitude, especially for essential projects or life decisions. Luck and good fortune usually favor those who are well prepared and good at what they do.
Create a more objective view of your stress in order to discover if it's really that bad.
The stress felt in a situation is defined each time by the individual perceiving it, and although it cannot be altogether avoided, it can be diminished. Therefore, in a roundabout way, a situation can be modified by, for example, questioning your own thoughts about it, or becoming more accepting.
Indeed according to your viewpoint, a difficult situation can be interpreted and seen as an opportunity. For example, if it's a rainy day, instead of going jogging, you can stay indoors and catch up on much-needed and neglected stretching.
Another way to gauge a situation's severity is by imagining if it will be much of an issue after six months or a year. This understanding will help blow off a little steam because the issue will lose its permanence.
For many tasks, perfection is futile, as there will always be someone who can do something better than you; additionally, to be perfect all the time is just not possible.
Perfection may not even be desirable as it may at first seem; a lot more may be accomplished during the day if it wasn't for focusing time and energy on a few single tasks.
It is important to feel satisfied with our accomplishments, even if they are less than perfect. If a specific project continues to cause aggravation, even though you have been spending a significant amount of time on it, you should question your methodology.
Asking your friends for an honest opinion might also help since they will be looking at the matter from a different viewpoint.
If, in the end, you cannot tear yourself away, and you must persist, see if you can afford an extra break, or if you can get someone to help you out.
Reflect on positive developments, and be grateful for what you already have. Contemplate the ephemeral nature of setbacks, and nip rumination in the bud. Nothing lasts forever; circumstances and feelings change all the time.
Cultivate a habit of switching internal chatter from the negative to the positive. For example, instead of brooding over how long it's taking to become fluent in Spanish, bear in mind that you are learning new things every day and that sooner or later, the right words will begin to fall into place.
Avoid amplifying daily setbacks. Make a habit of emphasizing achievements and downplaying disappointments. For example, you receive an unexpected assignment at school, and later in the day, your team wins at darts. Revel more in your sharpshooting awesomeness rather than immersing yourself in academic gloom.
In times of adversity, avoid self-blame and reject responsibility for blunders that have nothing to do with you. If something goes wrong, make a trace to determine if the burden of responsibility really lies with you.