Stress is often associated with a negative connotation. Just the idea of it scares us. Especially in the business world. Business meetings, weekly reports, and late nights in the office are things that factor into stress. But what if I told you that turning stress from a negative into a positive is just as easy as rethinking it?
In a study published by the University of Harvard, you find out that the key to empowering stress isn’t from running away from it, but embracing it. Stress affects us physiologically and psychologically. Our bodies tense up and we’re filled with anxiety. By taking a step back and rethinking our stress, we can use it to fuel us in the business world.
Some tips are written in Kelly McGonigal’s book titled The Upside of Stress. Here are a few tips:
- Is your heart beating faster due to the anxiety of a business meeting? Realize that your body is giving you more energy to perform and try to capitalize upon that.
- If feeling nervous, pause and consider why, and ask yourself if it’s because you’re doing something that matters to you. In doing so, it’ll reinforce your values and give you meaning in life.
- Don’t deny the stress, embrace it and use it to fuel the task at hand.
- If you are feeling overwhelmed with work, consider doing a small act of kindness for someone and note the mental reward you reap.
- When experiencing stress, our body releases oxytocin. Oxytocin, otherwise known as the cuddle hormone causes us to seek out social support in friends and loved ones. Find social support and seek out others.
- Lastly, denying stress causes isolation. Isolation causes the reinforcement of fears. Instead, ask yourself why you’re experiencing stress and look for any positive aspects to it. Are you learning something from it? Are you gaining strength? Do you feel more alive?
These are just some of what McGonigal listed in her book. Of course with any habit, it takes a while to change. But over time, you can turn stress from a negative experience, into a transformative one.
