Are you reeling under a lot of stress? Before you read further, take a deep breath and then grab a piece of paper and pen. Identify all those things that’s causing you to feel stressed.
1.Go ahead and write them down on paper.
If you were to take stock of all the things that are running through your mind because you have to tackle them sooner or later, what would they be?
Your to-do list, bills to pay, health issues, relationship difficulties, work struggles, events coming up, worries about the future, past hurts and the list can go on for the thousand thoughts we have everyday.
Write as many as comes to your mind..
Just doing a brain dump (writing down everything that comes to your mind) itself will reduce the intense overwhelming feeling.
2. Now, take a paper, make an outline of your hand.
3. On the drawing of the hand, write down all the things that are in your control. Those for which you can take actionable steps to tackle.
4. Outside the hand, all the things that are not in your control. (or strikethrough all the things that are out of your control)
Of course, for the things that are out of your control, you cannot do anything about it but you can choose how you want to respond to it. I can’t control my children’s behavior or performance in school, but I can influence them. If I have some plumbing work at home, I can call the plumber (in my control), but I don't know when he will show up (out of my control). So then do I get stressed about it or can I wait calmly? If it’s something urgent, I may need to call a few plumbers to get the job done quickly.
If you have come to identify things that you have a control of versus those that are out of your control, you will notice that the emotions and physiological responses connected to the feelings of stress have begun to ebb and you may be feeling more calm.
You now have the mental space to think about what you want to do about each of them.
For the things in your control - prioritize and take steps to tackle them one by one.
Hope this was an insightful activity! Now, you have more mental space to think rationally.
Comments