Don’t Try To Reduce Your Stress, Learn To Perform Under Stress.
The stress will still be there, but you will use it to your advantage.
Many of us are experiencing significant stress and anxiety. The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously not helped. However, the situation is already complex for many people long before that. Political instability, climate change, terrorism, or the need to get by financially month after month are all things that stress everyone.
The situation is even more problematic among Millennials and Generation Z.
The 2021 edition of a survey published by Deloitte every year for the past decade clearly highlights this. Entitled "The Deloitte Global 2021 Millennial and Gen Z Survey", the survey highlights that 41% of Millennials and 46% of Gen Z members surveyed say they feel stressed the majority of the time.
Stress and anxiety particularly affect Millennials and Generation Z
The pandemic has only heightened millennials' and Gen Z's concerns about their money future. In a world where more than 30% of the U.S. dollars currently in circulation have been printed out of thin air in the past 18 months, there is clearly cause for concern.
Uncertainty about employment is also a source of stress. 31% of millennials and 35% of Gen Zers surveyed say they have ever taken time away from work because of stress and anxiety issues. Mental health at work is clearly one of the big challenges of the future for these generations.
What I find most disturbing is that members of these generations are already disillusioned about many things.
More than 4 millennials and members of Generation Z are already convinced that we have reached the point of no return when it comes to the environment and that it is too late to repair the damage done to the planet.
The numbers clearly show that the problem of stress among the new generations is not going to magically resolve itself. This is why more and more people are looking for ways to reduce their stress.
Traditional stress reduction tips never work in the long run
To address this problem, I think we have to go back to the definition of stress. Stress is a set of physical and physiological reactions of the body when faced with a particular situation, which some would call stressful, and/or specific stressors.
Everyone can suffer from stress during their life. This of course concerns all generations. However, a chronic stress situation is pathological.
We must therefore differentiate between two forms of stress:
Stress in the face of a given event. This is what I call one-time stress.
Chronic stress becoming more pathological. It is the one that more and more people suffer from.
To cope with these two forms of stress, many people will constantly repeat the same advice: breath better, meditate, do sports, enjoy your family more, go for a walk in nature, ...
This advice will help you on a one-time basis. However, by the time you return to your stressful and anxious workplace, meditation will be long gone. You will find it difficult to remember those moments of calm.
Rather than trying to eliminate stress from your life, you must learn to perform when it is there
A more effective approach, in my opinion, is to see stress and anxiety as things that will always be there. You can't control them. Your body will respond to what you are experiencing with these types of emotions and feelings. So you need to take the opposite approach.
Rather than trying to reduce your stress, which will prove to be a very hard fight to win, you must instead learn to perform despite the stress.
The idea is to make stress your best ally rather than your worst enemy. To progress in the way you will perform under stress, you need to practice. It's the same as if you wanted to progress in running. You will make a training plan and train until the day you reach your goal.
With stress or anxiety, it's the same thing.
Rather than turning your back on what is stressing you out, you need to make the effort to face these situations by looking for ways to get out of your comfort zone. Many people are afraid of public speaking. This fear paralyzes people and makes them anxious for days in advance of a public appearance.
The example of actors who have stage fright before performing is the perfect example of the effort you must make to use your stress
Many people will refuse to speak in public to avoid stress.
However, this will not solve your problem. To really take it to the next level, you need to face it as often as possible. Join a drama club and seek out public speaking as often as possible.
Your stress will not be reduced when you speak in public, but with the force of habit, you will learn to do it well despite the stress.
All stage actors constantly repeat that they have intense stress before going on stage. They call it stage fright. Well, despite everything, they still go on stage to do their performance. They have learned to perform despite their stress and anxiety. That makes all the difference.
You, on the other hand, must focus on this learning process rather than trying to reduce your stress, which will only reduce your problem temporarily.
Learning to perform under conditions of stress or anxiety will change your life over time.
Some reading
How Bitcoin Is the Answer to US Economic Sanctions for Nations. More and more countries will seize this unique opportunity.
The Incredible Story of Ernest Shackelton’s Expedition to the South Pole — 4 Leadership Lessons To Remember. To be a great leader requires total devotion.
A 5-Step Plan To Get Rid of a Negative Mindset - Having a positive mindset is the key to achieving great things.