Do you find yourself stressed out at work? Are you constantly worried about deadlines? Does working long hours make you feel guilty?
Work pressure stresses us out. It makes us anxious. It makes us angry. It makes us tired.
It causes us to question whether we’re really living. It leaves us feeling trapped.
All too often, we get caught between the demands of work and the demands of home. Between the pressures of deadlines and the expectations of family members. Between the needs of clients and the obligations of friends.
We’re under constant pressure to perform. And we’re expected to meet impossible standards.
We’re stressed.
Stress is inevitable. But we don’t have to allow it to consume us. We don’t have to suffer through it.
In this article, I’ll share practical tips to help you manage stress and get back to enjoying your job again.
Let me ask you a simple question.
What causes stress?
Well, here’s an interesting thing about stress: It’s caused by two factors:
1) Your expectations
2) Your beliefs
Your expectations cause you stress. And your beliefs cause you stress.
As long as you’re expecting something unpleasant to happen, you’ll probably get stressed out. As long as you believe that you’re responsible for whatever happens, you’ll likely get stressed out.
Now, if you’re really smart, you’ll figure out ways to manage your expectations and your beliefs. You’ll learn how to deal with situations before they turn stressful. You’ll learn how not to get stressed out.
Here’s the problem: Most people don’t understand the relationship between expectations and beliefs. So they go through life believing that they’re responsible for whatever happens. Then they get stressed out whenever anything bad happens.
They don’t realize that they’re causing themselves stress.
In order to fix this problem, you need to acknowledge both your expectations and your beliefs — and then you need to change.
Expectations: You set unreasonable goals. You expect to win awards. You expect to be promoted. You expect to meet certain standards. You expect perfection.
Beliefs: You blame others for problems you encounter. You judge yourself harshly. You criticize yourself. You compare yourself unfavourably to others.
You need to acknowledge these things. You need to admit that you’re setting unrealistic expectations. You need to admit you’re blaming others for problems you encounter, and you need to admit that you judge yourself harshly.
Then you need to change. You need to adjust your expectations. You need to lower your standards. You need to stop comparing yourself unfavourably to everyone else.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll find that your stress levels drop dramatically.
You’ll also find that you enjoy life more. You’ll appreciate the good times more. You’ll look at challenges as opportunities instead of threats. You’ll be happier. You’ll be healthier.
A step-by-step approach to handling stress and work pressure using kundalini meditation techniques
1. Sit in silence
Resolve not to talk to anyone for an hour or two. Do not open your phone, watch television, listen to music or read any book.
In silence, God speaks to you.
In silence, you listen.
In silence, you introspect.
2. Meditate in Thureeyam for 20 minutes
Thureeyam meditation will take your brain to the calm Alpha frequency.
3. Acknowledge & List your worries in a notepad
Writing helps to clear your mind. Write down all the thoughts that come into your head during the meditation session.
Don’t hold anything back. Don’t edit what you write. Just let it flow.
There are certain situations in an office that can lead to stress. Here are some examples:
- Having too much work to do
- Being late for meetings
- Too many meetings
- Poor communication
- Unclear goals
- Conflicts between colleagues
- Stressful deadlines
- Work overload
- Low pay
- Poor working conditions
- Lack of respect
- Sexual harassment
- Fear of failure
- Fear of criticism
- Fear of rejection
- Fear of being judged
- Loss of job
4. Find the root cause of your stress
Find the underlying expectations or beliefs that cause stress. Write them down.
Separate the problems from your worries. In the previous step, you listed down the problems. In this step, you list the root causes of worries.
Why are you worried?
- Incompetency
- Lack of control
- Lack of preparation
- Other people triggering issues
- Boss related problems
- Negative environment
Problems are real. Worries are imaginary.
You cannot find anyone in the world without problems. But, you do not need to worry about problems. You can live without stress.
5. Classify your stress
There are five ways you can classify your work-related stress:
- Plan and act (Having too much work to do, Being late for meetings, Incompetency)
- Act immediately (Sexual harassment, Lack of respect)
- Ignore (Fear of criticism, Fear of rejection, Fear of being judged)
- Endure (Boss-related problems, Poor working conditions, Lack of control)
- Postpone (Loss of job, Fear of annual performance appraisal, future job responsibility)
Remember, problems are real. You need to solve them.
Worries are imaginary. You need to get rid of them.
6. Discover solutions for your problems
For each worry, list the possible solutions.
Incompetency – sign up for an online course to learn a new skill
Sexual harassment – meet the HR and give a complaint
Fear of criticism – I know who I am, I respect myself, It does not matter what others think about me. I ignore and move on in life
Boss-related problems – Bless and endure him till such time I am able to find a job opening elsewhere in the company or in a different company
Loss of job – If it happens, be ready to face it. Right now, there is no need to worry about it. Bank on your educational qualification, job experience, and your competencies. Remember your strengths. Make yourself employable at all times.
Write down your resolution against each problem.
7. Meditate & Superimpose
Close your eyes. Meditate in Sahasrara. Enter the Alpha stage of the mind.
Recall the problem. Visualise your classification and the resolution. See vividly in your mind how the solution will play out for you.
Strengthen the visual images of your solutions. Repeat the process of visualization until your stress disappears.
Enjoy the newfound freedom.
Mistakes are inevitable. Learning from mistakes is essential to improving yourself.
For example, you could apologize to your colleague if you were rude to her/him. Or you could offer to pay for his/her meal if you did not mean to offend him/her. Your worry about enmity with your colleague will disappear.
Positive thinking is associated with happiness and success. Therefore, you should always try to be happy and optimistic.
Try to see the bright side of situations. Try to enjoy the little things in life.
Taking action is very important. It shows that you care about yourself. Taking action demonstrates that you value yourself and want to take good care of yourself.
Remember, motivation comes from within.
One final tip:
If you feel overwhelmed by your worries, start with small steps. For example, instead of worrying about your boss’s reaction to your mistake, focus on correcting your mistake.
In conclusion, problems are inevitable. Stress is unnecessary. But don’t let a problem control your life. Instead, use it as a tool to help you achieve your goals. When you know exactly what you want from life, you won’t let anything stand in your way. So instead of letting stress dictate your actions, use it to motivate you to keep going. Get rid of stress forever in life.
You’ll become stronger and more capable of handling the challenges that inevitably arise along the way.
May the almighty force protect you, guide you, lead you, and support you, day and night, at all times, in all places, and in all your duties.
Is this article useful for you?
Let me know what you think.
Love you.
Be Blessed by the Divine!
Krish Murali Eswar.
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