Recently I got myself involved in one construction project which was awfully stressful. I would never want to live those few months again. But I must say that having some close family members or friends by your side during those tough times makes things way easier. This blog is just my personal experience and some learning from books.
There were some moments, I really wanted to cry out loud or quit everything. But I knew time shall pass and it will not matter. I am writing this blog after 6-7 months of construction project completion and sale. It was a learning experience, I never had to deal with so much stress in my life before. It was like facing a new side of me which I have not seen before.
Our minds trick us, it always finds the worst-case scenario of every single situation. My mind kept on thinking about every possible thing which could go wrong until my head starts hurting and I cannot take it anymore.
I did not think of COVID 19 though, which had a huge impact on my project. Believing in myself was the best thing I could do that time and that was one of the things which really helped me pass through it.
Are we scared to talk about Stress? Are we just trying to avoid it or is it our social system around us making us hide it instead of discussing and finding solutions?
These are big questions to ask and we need to find the answers together if we like to find a solution for this.
Stress can easily overpower your life and can take away the control to throw you in a ditch. With time, simple decisions will start becoming difficult without you ever knowing. Your life may start feeling overwhelmed while handling difficult situations.
Do you ever wonder why certain players are doing much better during crunch time to get a win for the team, while others end up making stupid judgements? Those are the players who can control their emotions and their stress level in difficult times, to come out as a winner.
Do you ever feel like you knew everything, but it is all lost during the exams, there may be some other kids who spend much less time but get better results? Did you ever wonder why it is like that?
Will you be ready to crack the job interviews and Will you be ready for big decisions in life? Or do you think you will crumble and complain about your luck?
This might be the right time to focus on your stress, understand it better so that you can take the control back to win back the game.
It is our human nature, we do exactly opposite of what is needed. We try to hide inside our rooms or cubicles when we need to go out to have some fun to release our stress.
Did you ever skip coffee or lunch break when you are very busy or under the pump? That is the exact opposite of what you are supposed to do. Sometimes, taking a small break for coffee or lunch helps to release pressure and help you to focus better on the work.
BUILD A SYSTEM
I do not believe in bandages like taking medication or doing something for a few days to release stress. It should be part of your daily routine, no need to do something special.
This system can be any one of the below mentioned points, idea here is that. it needs to be something that you can do daily without even thinking about it.
WALK, EXERCISE AND MEDITATION
Fit mind resides in a fit body and taking small steps daily can keep your body and mind in amazing shape. You should make a habit of taking a quick walk daily (preferably morning) and add a bit of exercise and mediation to it.
I have written THIS BLOG about spending just 30 mins daily and getting amazing results. I feel like I may be in the best shape of my life after following a few simple steps daily.
SLEEP
Sleep was one of the first things which I lost during my tough times. I do not know how I could wake up all of sudden at 3 AM and started thinking about worst case scenarios. I am still scared of waking up in the middle of the night.
Growing older has a big impact on sleep, we start giving more priority to our work and other non-essentials things which impacts sleep cycle and over time creates stress.
You need a good 8 hours of sleep to refresh your body to take new challenges tomorrow. How many times you get up next day and still feel tired, that is because either you are not sleeping enough, or you are changing your sleep schedule all the time, or you are sleeping too much.
Have a good sleep to de-stress yourself.
GOOD QUALITY MUSIC AND LESS SCREEN TIME
Anything too much can be bad, light music can help you to deal with stress but loud and too much music can be bad in the long run. Listen to light and cheerful songs which will light up your mood.
Screen time is kind of hot topic these days, it seems like there has been studies done which shows people prefer Netflix these days over sex. These days app like Instagram, Youtube or TikTok are very addictive, they are made to make you stay live for long period of time.
I have seen this with myself, I started Instagram @atwalspace for sharing pictures but these days I am spending hours just watching funny videos. I have set up alert at 2.5 hrs and believe me I have breached that so many times, spending 2.5 hours in a day on Instagram is just crazy.
SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS
During stressful times, people tend to hide in their rooms instead of spending time with their family and friends. Last thing you want to do during this time is staying away from family. It will make things worse.
You do not need to spend all day with them, just little coffee breaks or meal breaks are enough, or you can just watch a movie together or spend some time outside. It will take little efforts to come out of your shell but just one step will change everything.
DO NOT CARE ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT YOU
We have grown up in society. Its approval for everything has become so important in our heads that we push ourselves into stressful life.
Time has changed, we do not need society as much as we used to (on day to day basis) and neither do we need anyone’s approval about anything we do. It does not mean to completely cut off from society, it means just do not care about people’s opinions who are not important in your life. And the same thing applies to you too. You can not expect anything from other person and can’t be judgmental about their decisions either.
You just have one life to live and you cannot live how others want you to live.
THINK LONG TERM GOALS
You may lose a battle, but you should be focusing on winning the war.
You will definitely face problems in your life but that’s how life works. We are trying to find solutions to problems daily.
There is no need to stress if you miss small things here and there, focus on long term goals and work towards that.
FOCUS ON BIGGER PICTURE
Do you wonder why most people are not successful? Because they are stuck with small problems instead of looking at the bigger picture. They do not even work towards success.
Small problems are part of life, forget the small clutter in life and focus on the bigger picture.
IT WON’T MATTER IN 5 DAYS
Most of the things we worry about do not matter after 5 days. Can you try to remember what you were worried about last week? Most likely you do not remember.
I know it is not that easy to get away from the stuff that is going on in your head. But you need to stay calm and keep on reminding yourself that these things will not matter next week, and I will get through this by being strong and STOP worrying about it.
SELF CARE
We always worry about our family, kids, parents, society. Mainly about everything except ourselves. When are we going to make ourselves priority to live this one beautiful life?
Imagine, this is just one life and it will not be coming back again. Sometimes, it is good to be selfish and think about yourself. It is you who are responsible for everything that is happening with you, to you and for you. You are the central point here, make yourself a priority.
TAKE A BREAK
Once you grow up and have a lot of responsibilities, at that moment you will realize how complete life used to be as kids. Sometimes, you need to sit down and take a break from everything to relax.
It does not mean that you need to quit everything and leave for weeks; it just means you can take a couple of days off after 1-2 months. Try to find a place close to nature without too much travelling and away from the city. Nature has its way to make us feel relaxed, nature’s stillness and quietness will make you discover yourself.
Bill Gates is known for taking small breaks somewhere quiet, he just takes his books with him to explore new ideas.
FIX YOUR MONEY PROBLEMS
You may notice a lot of people tell you that money does not matter, and you may notice those people do not have money.
Money does matter unless you cut off yourself from society and start living in the Himalayas. Most common reason of fights between couples is money, it matters a lot if you want to live a stress-free life.
Food, clothing, education, weddings etc. everything costs money and you do not have to stress about a lot of these issues if you just solve the money puzzle. Sometimes living below your means can make your life much easier and stress free.
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