5 big lessons I learned about managing stress

Regardless of your job title or industry, stress is common. Arjun Paliwal shares his insights on five very important lessons that have helped him manage stress.

Success matters

Quite often, when you think of the word “stress”, you align it with having long hours, lots of deadlines or having many things happen at once. Now imagine all of that happening and there are no results to show for it... Things get worse, right?

Imagine the opposite, and suddenly how you perceive it all changes simply due to the “success” seen and achieved through your actions. Personally, this made me change my way of thinking, which forced me to prioritize actions that would bring forward success sooner and, in turn, the stress faded away.

Don’t do it all alone

Mentors and coaches can be of extreme value for managing stress. Most of what you may be going through has been done and/or felt by someone else before you. This has been the biggest game changer to how I have personally managed stress. Just when you think things are not where they need to be, you have someone else paint a clearer picture. When things in your own mind are going well, your mentor could suddenly show you the opportunities ahead. In other parts of life, asking for help can be the difference maker in managing stress levels, whilst it’s not always easy, it is a must.

Celebrate milestones

Even the most successful can find themselves in moments of stress. Usually, because they don’t realise how good things really are. Successful or not, we all have something to be grateful for. Whether we are celebrating work or personal milestones, the celebration usually leads to moments of gratefulness and reflection, allowing you to forget about the stress.

Think time

White spaces on the calendar are often looked at as the most “evil” of all things when it comes to productivity and efficiency (which I agree with, lol). However, the calendar doesn’t have to be all about the “do time”. Why not take a moment to fill that space with some “think time”. Doing this has allowed me to de-stress, reflect, plan ahead, rapidly grow my business and more. I dedicate at least two hours a day just to think. It sounds crazy, but it works!

The other ‘zone’

We talk about “being in the zone”' when at work and it can often lead to some productive days and fantastic results. Even if what you do is what you love, there is always time for something else. Giving that “something else” its own zone can be all your mind needs to focus on something else for a change. Sports, hobbies, certain family activities or any other interests could be your zone. For me, it’s basketball and that too any kind of basketball e.g. playing in real life, or in a video game, and even watching the pros go at it.

Arjun Paliwal is a director at residential and commercial property buyers agency InvestorKit.