Remaining calm in a stressful situation is a task many people find difficult to master. For the past four years, I have been a full-time student who has maintained a high enough GPA to fulfill the standards of the requirement to keep my scholarship while juggling a part-time job. Engaging in stressful situations has unfortunately become a hobby for me – from exams or important presentations to my overall performance at work. Eventually, I thoroughly started to enjoy the challenge of utilizing the skills I learned to obtain a successful outcome – almost like battling in combat and winning.
Tall, short, skinny, plump, male, female, stress does not discriminate against anyone! It is very important to be aware of some of the key techniques that can help you remain “triple C” cool, calm and collected, in overwhelming times.
For the past couple of years, I have been an employee of Capital Moving and Storage Co, Inc., a corporate moving and storage company that offers office relocation and corporate relocations. Currently, they are the top corporate moving and storage company in New York City, NY. Literally, I had to “work my way up the ladder” through some extremely “stressful” situations!
For example, I did everything from personal assistant to secretary to having my own cubicle where I organized warehouse inventory sheets that reflected updated lot allocations, provided billing services to customers and consulted with sales representatives for making competitive bids on projects due to operating expenses. These are just some of the difficult tasks that I had to overcome, but remaining calm helped me achieve my goals.
I am in my final semester of college and recently received a huge promotion to my newest position at work, where I work directly with clientele (something which is very nerve racking). There was not always a light at the end of the tunnel. I had to learn a thing or two. Always attempting to remain calm has been my saving grace.
According to the article “Quick Stress Relief: Fast and Effective Ways to Rapidly Reduce Stress,” the first thing you should do is learn how to recognize stress by observing your muscles and insides.
Ask yourself, are my muscles tight or sore? Is my stomach tight or sore? Are my hands clenched? These are some strong indicators that you are starting to feel “stressed out.”
From this point, one technique that has always worked for me is observing my breath by breathing deeply.
According to Dr. Nauert, “When we are busy, stressed, worried, anxious, and suffering from guilt, we tend to breathe shallow breaths, using only the top 20 percent of our lung capacity. That means your brain and body are getting 20 percent of the oxygen they should be getting. If you have a lot going on and what you need is energy, endurance and clear thinking, one of the simplest ways to help yourself is to get 100 percent of the oxygen your body needs.”
While working directly with clientele, one problem you may face is a disappointed client. Things in life do not always run smoothly. When a client is screaming at me because a million dollar portrait did not arrive on time – before panicking, I again utilize the basic skills I learned to remain calm.
Other helpful suggestions include accepting the situation, putting a solution in motion, getting comfortable, learning to say “no,” stopping everything, looking at the big picture and focusing on the most important tasks first. I would highly recommend putting these stress- relief tips to use because the truth of the matter is – you and only you can be determined to develop a positive mental attitude every day.
Like Natalie Goldberg an author and artist of Zen said, “Stress is basically a disconnection from earth, a forgetting of the breath. Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important. Just lie down.”
