UNITED STATES—If there was something I’ve learned as I have gotten older it is stress is part of our lives. A vast majority of the stress for many Americans comes directly from our work lives. Work is just stressful there is no other way to get around it America. The stress comes two-fold: you have a job you HATE and you’re stuck with it until you can find something else or you have a job that you don’t hate, but there is so much you have to do it stacks on the stress for you.
Stress can be manageable, but as Americans we have to find a way to compartmentalize it so that it doesn’t get out of hand. You cannot avoid stress that is something that I have to acknowledge, many of us like to ignore it, but it always fester in the back of one’s minds. How can I best say this? You know you have something to do, but you want to place it on the back burner just because you don’t want to deal with it. It is still there, at some point you will have to acknowledge and you will have to deal with it.
One of the biggest tips someone has ever taught me about dealing with stress when it comes to work is don’t overdo it. Do not try to get everything done in a single day because in all honesty it will burn you out in ways that you can never imagine. Do what you can and don’t tear your hair out if all is not completed. It’ll be there tomorrow. If it’s urgent handle it, but everything else do it as time allows you to do it.
Think about what needs to be done that is vital and get those tasks completed. With everything else, take them as you can, don’t feel pressured to do it all. You cannot be Superman, and if you attempt to be Superman you will indeed burn out and it will happy fairly faster than you can imagine. Another way to reduce work stress is to not feel compelled to do what you’re not expected to do. It’s ok to be a team player, but at the same time it’s not your duty to have the shoulder of the company at your fingertips, especially if you do not have a share in the company.
Trying to prove your worth is one thing, but doing it at the expense of your mental health and physical health is not a smart idea. Take breaks when working. I recently had someone think I was going to work a full 8-hour shift without taking a break. Hello? Are you crazy? That is never going to happen, even if it was a job that I adored, I’ve going to have a lunch break and I’m going to take a break. That is how it works for the American worker. If you have an 8-hour shift, you have two 15-minute breaks and a one 30-minute lunch break.
Don’t allow your employer to overwork you America; you do have to indeed stand your ground at various points in your career. Sometimes you have to take a gamble consider what else is out there that may be your cup of tea. With work we are sometimes afraid to take risks, and risks are something that you have to consider. If you are indeed frustrated while working, you sometimes have to take a moment and just scream. Do not allow your emotions to get the best of you. Take a moment, breathe, cool yourself down and regroup. We all need to do it at various points in our lives. With icing on the cake, after a tough day of work do something that relaxes you. Rather that be exercising, cooking, watching a TV show, listening to a podcast, drawing, writing, watching a movie there are ways to take your mind off that stress.
When it comes to family stress, which is the next big stressor for most people, you have to deal with the issue staring you right in the face. Family is difficult because you can’t just sever ties with blood, but you have to find a way to come to some sort of common ground. You will fight you have argue, it will stress you out and its ok to take time away from family. Don’t allow family to get the best of you or rile you up in a way that you say or do things that you cannot take back.
The one thing I have learned about family stress is that in due time it always solves itself. Doesn’t happen as quickly as you want it to, but it does happen, it just sometimes takes time for it to actually occur. With that said, you have to be sure to surround yourself around people that bring you positive energy not that negative energy. The last big stressor is money. Money is perhaps a bigger stressor than work now that I think about it, you can do things to change it, but for some people you have to play with the cards that have been dealt to you.
It is not easy, but when you get an advantage or some extra revenue make the best of it. I mean think about the extra $600 unemployed Americans received for the past few months, they would have been wise to put those funds in a savings account or for a rainy day. Money sometimes comes to being wise about your expenses. You are going to have weeks or months where you are limited on what you can spend or do, and I tell people all the time that is life. You have to navigate with things thrown your way and just think of it this way if you come out on top, you will be able to look back on your ability to thrive when its least expected.
Written By Jason Jones
