Change These Three Mindsets to Lessen Stress

Changing how you perceive stress is the first step to combating it, according to burnout expert Paula Davis-Laack. To alleviate stress at work, you need to get rid of three mindsets that alter the way you perceive challenges. After leaving these thought processes behind, you may find yourself happier, more resilient and more successful.

1. Perfectionism

You can begin to alleviate stress by eliminating thoughts of perfectionism. It's OK to strive for excellence and have high personal standards, but perfectionism takes your expectations a step further. Perfectionism means you worry about making a mistake and fear negative impressions from your social circle. You also react strongly to imperfection, either in your own life or elsewhere. Perfectionists tend to have a rigid way of thinking; they see situations as "black or white" or "all or nothing," and they easily find fault in others while getting defensive when criticized.

The main difficulty with a perfectionist attitude lies in playing it safe and not taking risks, even good risks, that could benefit your career. You might find a stable job that you enjoy and then avoid stretching your boundaries or trying anything new. Another aspect of perfectionism is that, eventually, you face burnout at work because your attitude negatively affects your performance, your professional relationships and your stress levels. Instead of becoming high-strung at every little out-of-place thing in your life, alleviate stress by setting high standards of excellence for your behavior and recognizing that it's OK for others not to strive for the same goals.

2. Being Too Busy

You might occasionally tell people you're too busy to help them or too busy to spend time with them, and there's nothing wrong with working hard. Putting in maximum effort earns you promotions, higher salaries, added perks and higher credibility within your industry. However, telling people you're too busy may have unintended consequences, and it may make it harder to alleviate stress at work. Consider a situation in which your child asks you to attend a ball game or dance recital. If you respond automatically with "I'm too busy," you may hurt that person because you've prioritized your feelings as most important. Suddenly, you unintentionally put a strain on your relationships, which simply adds to your burdens at work.

Alleviate stress by managing your time. Set reasonable goals for productivity so you don't overwork yourself. Diversify your tasks every day, and get in a little exercise. Learn to spend time each day with people you love.

3. Stressing About Stress

A study done over eight years showed that people with high amounts of stress were more likely to die — but only if those people believed that stress was harmful. If you don't believe stress is harmful, you may actually live longer than those who think tension harms them. Get rid of stress by changing your perception of it. Acknowledge tension when it happens, recognize stress as a response to something that's important to you, and then channel that energy into something positive.

Alleviate stress sooner rather than later by eliminating perfectionism, abandoning your too-busy attitude and rethinking harmful perceptions. Change these three mindsets as part of your formula for success, and find ways to be just as productive without the tension.

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