Making mountains out of molehills…
Your perception and how you perceive the situation is the number one stressor in an individual’s life.
If you think you can control a situation – you will!
If you think you can’t control the circumstances – you won’t!
Let’s talk about some Hidden Sources of Stress:
1. Habitual Thinking
- I can’t do this.
- I’m never going to learn this.
- Everybody’s smarter than me.
2. Criticizing yourself
- Boy am I dumb.
- I should know this by now.
- I am so overweight.
3. Obsessing over failures
- Won’t let go of certain thoughts.
- I should have been a better parent.
- I wish I had gone to college.
- I wish I knew then what I know now.
4. Fearing
- I can’t go on the trip because I’m scared of water, heights, airplanes, etc.
- Fear of meeting new people, accepting new assignments, or speaking in front of others.
5. Doubting
- I can’t.
- I’m not capable.
- I’m not qualified.
- I’m not smart.
- I’m not pretty/handsome.
6. Controlling
- My way or hit the highway.
- Has hands in everything and nose in everybody’s business.
- Telling others the best way to handle ‘their’ issues.
7. Building mountains out of molehills
- Gets nervous and anxious over minor situations creating havoc.
- The issue could have been solved with a phone call, but you scheduled an all-staff meeting.
The list above are negative traits – get rid of the negatives and start practicing the positive.
Ask yourself what is causing you to feel the way you do, and why are you experiencing negative feelings.
ASK:
What caused me to be so fearful (think back to your past), and why am I fearing this situation?
Why am I putting myself down and so critical of myself?
What would I have done differently as a parent? A spouse? A teen?
Try to discover the reasons for the negative thinking, and resolve to change it to positive today –
Make lemonade out of lemons!
Determine your ‘perceptions’ relating to the above seven traits.
Decide that you ‘will’ handle the situations.
Get rid of the ‘hidden stressors’ controlling your life.