Reduce Stress By Putting Things In Perspective

When you are feeling stressed it is easy to get everything out of perspective. Minor things can become major, positive can become negative and everything can start to feel catastrophic. When you get something out of perspective you fail to judge its real importance in comparison with everything else.

Here are some techniques to use when you are feeling stressed and struggling to put things in perspective:

Remind yourself of what is going well and what you have achieved. When you are feeling stressed you tend to focus totally on what is not going well. Step back from the situation and consider what is going well, what you have achieved and how much you have progressed. This will help you put what is not going well in perspective.

Consider how you dealt with similar things in the past. When you are stressed about things think back to how you dealt with similar situations in the past and use that learning now. This will give you confidence that you can get through the current situation.

Think about the best and worst that could happen. If you are stressed you will find that you start to catastrophise and think about some very bad potential outcomes. Start to think about the best and worst that could happen, so you create boundaries to your thoughts.

Look at the statistics properly. When you are stressed something 1% can easily in your mind become 100%. Look at the statistics properly to get things in perspective and to remind you that things are not as bad as you think.

Take a break and do something different. When you are stressed and things are getting out of perspective, take a break and do something different. This could be going for a walk, making a drink or moving away from the situation you are in. This will help you gain perspective on the situation.

Think rationally. When you are feeling stressed your thinking can become very irrational and you can easily get things out of perspective. Consider things as if you are a third party looking in. Rationally analyse what is happening and remind yourself of the reality and facts.

Remind yourself of your long term goals. If you are feeling stressed you can get very focused on the minutiae and small things can dominate your thinking. Remind yourself what is really important to you and of your long term goals and focus on what really matters.

Plan, prioritise and take action. When you are feeling stressed and getting everything out of perspective it is natural to stop making decisions and taking action. Make a plan of what you need to do, prioritise and start to take action to move forward. This will get things back into perspective.

Look for the positive. When you are stressed and get things out of perspective you can end up focusing on the negative. Look for the positives and you will start to see your perspective change.

Chat it through with someone else. When you are stressed and are getting things out of perspective it is very challenging to see the reality of the situation. Chat it through with a business colleague, a trusted adviser, a business mentor, a family member or a friend. They will be able to help you see things from a different perspective.

Author: Liz Makin
Published: February 2018

Makin It Happen has a range of personal development online courses to purchase, created by Liz Makin, including anxiety management, communication, resilience, soft skills, stress management, time management and coaching. Liz Makin also provides personalised business coaching, business mentoring and stress management services to business owners, directors, managers and professionals.

Please email Liz@makinithappen.co.uk to arrange a FREE consultation session to discuss our business coaching, business mentoring and stress management services for business owners, directors, managers and professionals.