We face enough in life without needing to place extra pressure on ourselves. We tend to think perfection is what we have to achieve, and this adds unnecessary stress on our lives. The first step is realizing when you are making things harder for yourself. Owning up to our own flaws is difficult, but it is a start in taking the pressure off that we often place on ourselves. Once we can accept this, it makes it much easier to move forward. Do not blame yourself, instead praise yourself for acknowledging where you can improve.
Here are some helpful tips to make the most of life, and cut out the self-inflicted stress:
- Accept your weaknesses, as well as other peoples – Recognize and accept your weaknesses as well as others. No one is perfect, and we shouldn’t try to be. Don’t be too hard on yourself by taking the negative thoughts away and focus on the positives. Don’t hold on to grudges or take things to personally. You will find that when you feel happiness and gratitude towards yourself and others, your mind and body will naturally follow and feel so much more at ease.
- Have balance in your life – Take care of and nurture yourself. You will find it much harder to accomplish anything, if you aren’t feeling healthy. Put yourself first every once in a while. This may be attending an exercise class, going for a walk, doing meditation, taking time to have a proper lunch break in the fresh air and sunshine, or simply saying ‘no’ to an invitation because you’re feeling exhausted. Regular exercise, enough sleep and nurturing relationships are just some key factors to help keep balance in life.
- Organize your time – Making some adjustments to the way you organize your time could help keep on top of your everyday tasks and take the pressure off. Make a list of all your tasks for the day and arrange them in importance of order. Identify your most productive time of day and concentrate on doing the most important tasks during that time.
- Set smaller and more achievable targets – When you’re under a lot of pressure it’s easy to set yourself harder targets that are often unachievable. Start with small achievable targets and tick them off as you go. Physically seeing you tick off and achieve these tasks (no matter how small they are) will make you feel in control and give you a sense of achievement.
- Ask for help – If you are feeling like things are getting on top of you, don’t be afraid to ask for help. You’ll be surprised how people will be willing to help, even if it’s for some moral support, someone to help you make a decision on something that you are struggling with through to childcare help to allow you to get some tasks completed. Sometimes we have to realize we can’t do everything ourselves and we shouldn’t feel bad asking for help.
- Give yourself time to breathe – Every day schedule some time (10-15 minutes is good) to take yourself away from where you spend most of your day. Make yourself a cup of of tea, coffee or whatever you like to drink and just be still. Clear your mind and take some deep breaths. It may sound simple, but it is extremely affective.