How much stress can your brain handle?
A mayonnaise jar was filled with golf balls; the remaining space was filled with pebbles; when some space was still left, it was filled with sand till the jar was full. Here, the jar is your life. The golf balls denote the most important things of your life, and if you lose everything, your life still would be complete with these things, such as family, friends, and health. The pebbles represent the things that matter, such as jobs, houses, and money. The sand symbolizes everything else – the small issues. If you put the sand into the jar first, no space would be left for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have space for the crucial things.
I couldn’t agree more with the last statement. People complain of stress; during which, even the tiniest of tasks feel like a pain. However, a job where you’re invariably busy, you work harder and better. But, it’s extremely easy to fall into a non-productive routine when you don’t have a bit of stress.
Different people have differing degrees of tolerance to stress; a degree that might lead to peak performance for one individual could cause another to get trapped under the pressure. You just have to make out how many things you can embrace to stay in that target area, without overburdening yourself. How actually are you supposed to discover that sweet spot? Well, hit and trial, I guess. Recall the times when you thrived under pressure, and then correlate them to times when you were under extreme stress and only wanted to cry. How do they differ? It also relies on the area of your life you are dealing with.
Money Stress
If you are overpowered by your finances, build a monthly budget for yourself. Also, it is crucial to have an emergency fund. Consider having about three months of expenses saved as your emergency fund.
Work Stress
This can be a hard one and a challenge to crack. You cannot always control what tasks are allocated to you and how soon they are required to be accomplished. List your priorities. Once you learn a sequence to do things, you can check things off your list.
Maintain your stress level at a healthy amount. Staying efficient will mean fewer freakouts.
Home Stress
You might be agreeing to do something that you don’t honestly want to do. So, stop doing it. You can say no! Putting up with too much leads to you performing things badly, and nobody likes that. So, don’t feel guilty for skipping an event or not taking on another task.
Plan time to care for yourself. For instance, take a warm relaxing bath with lots of bubbles, a good book, and a glass of wine. Play with your dog or do a bit of at-home yoga.
Do ask for help. Perhaps your boss or your other half don’t think you’re living up to their expectations, but if you’re always stressed out or exhausted, this must be discussed. You might simply be too good at repressing your stress and no one might be aware of your sufferings.
