It’s Not About Eliminating Stress, It’s About Becoming More Resilient

It’s said that two things in life are certain – death and taxes. I think we can all agree something else deserves to be on that list:

STRESS

There is not one person walking through Australia, or on this planet, who hasn’t experienced some sort of stress in their life. And it’s not like the majority of people have dealt with stress once or twice in their life. We all deal with stress on a regular basis. Stress is like that shark in shallow water. You can tell by its fin that it’s nearby. Sometimes it’ll bite you, while other times it swims away. But there’s very little you can do to keep the shark at bay. It’s the water for pete’s sake. Where else should a shark go?

The same goes for stress. This is crazy, mixed up world, for pete’s sake, Where else should stress go?

So, to sit on a pedestal and preach to the masses that in order to become less stressed you have to manage and abolish it makes as much sense as swimming in a pool of sharks.

So if I’m not here to tell you to manage and obliterate stress, what good can I offer you?

I offer you resilience.

Life = Change, and Change = Stress. Tips for Australia and New Zealand

That little math equation is all you need to realize to understand that stress is unavoidable. To dedicate your life to eliminating stress is essentially a journey that leads you nowhere, because stress is as much a part of our lives as breathing. Whenever we encounter any type of change in life, stress is right alongside it.

And it doesn’t have to be a drastic change. New jobs, homes, and relationships certainly top the list of stressors. But tiny changes have a big impact as well. Imagine some of the tiny changes in your life that have caused even a small portion of stress in your day:

• You missed the bus or train

• There’s an unexpected traffic jam

• The dishes weren’t done when you got home

• Your dog wants to eat earlier than normal

• Your co-worker hasn’t emailed you that report like usual

Any change in our lives opens us up to the potential of stress. And that’s because stress is the instrument of change. It’s something we use and then (hopefully) release, once change is made.

So what can you do to become less affected by your stress, and instead use it to your advantage?

Resilience is the key.

Become a resilient person to use stress to your advantage

What exactly is resilience? Resilience is the ability to bounce back quickly, and completely, following a period of intense stress, challenges and change. By refining our flexibility, adaptability, productivity, and longevity, we can become more effective people in our professional and personal lives.

There are two types of change you should be prepared for:

1. The changes that we want to happen

2. The changes we can’t avoid

You can approach these changes in specific ways to focus your mindset and come out on top. It’s about not becoming a victim of change, but becoming the influencer. It’s about making the changes we want to happen, happen as we wish, and to make the changes we can’t avoid turn out for the best.

For example, one change you might want to happen is a raise at work. This, of course, has caused you stress as you worry about how your boss will react, how your family needs the money, what repercussions ensue. All of this worry is stealing time away from your formulating a logical action plan to make the change happen. Thus, by the time you’re ready to ask for that raise, you’ve done little preparation and have already entered the room predicting an unfavorable outcome.

But by focusing your mindset on the end goal, you can use your stress to inspire yourself. Your stress can actually help you think clearly about how best to approach this sensitive topic.

Stress happens to Australians and the rest of the world

And we’re glad it does. Stress denotes change, and all of us hope to change and evolve over our lifetimes, right? A few things to keep in mind is that you’re never alone in your stress. At this very moment, millions of other people are feeling the same way.

But you can do something different. You can stop fighting this natural response, and rather use it to influence changes in your life and become the master of your journey.