bythemethod.com blog

Stress starts in your brain. This means that the way we think has a profound effect on the amount of stress we experience.

Wrong thinking = high stress

The way we think about things is perhaps the single most important factor in how stressed we become. For instance if we believe that we are bad at doing something (perhaps public speaking for instance) then our stress response gets triggered when we have to do that thing.

Sometimes it is ok to be average

Here I want to point out a simple truth to you and that is that some times its OK to be average. To be average means that we are not bad at something. We may not always be the best at everything and so its OK to just be reasonable at something.

Aim to excell in what really matters to you

You can’t be the best at everything and in fact trying to be the best at everything usually means that you can’t be the best at anything. There just is not enough time to be an expert on everything. Aim to excel in your chosen career but accept that in some things you will just be OK.

Don’t be satisfied with being average

Having said that we should be happy with being ok or average in some things that does not mean we should settle there. I am a great believer in trying to improve and if you settle with being average then you will not improve. Always try to improve in everything but don’t beat yourself up over the fact that some things will just be ok. So excell is a few things and try to improve in all things. Hope that makes sense.

A simple exercise: thought stopping

Whenever you find yourself having a negative thought about yourself – stop it. Tell yourself you are not going to think that way. I don’t want you to make it a positive thought or to put anything else in its place I’m just asking you for one week to stop thinking bad things about yourself.

As your self esteem improves and you learn not to be so negative about yourself your stress will drop.

What negative thoughts do you have?

Many people have all kinds of negative thoughts about themselves that are just plain silly. Sharing those with other might help you stop saying them. Things often look silly when you write them down.