Stress Management Tip #4 - Accept What You Can’t Change

No matter what you do to avoid, alter or adapt to a stressful situations, there are some things in life that will unavoidably cause stress. Events like death of a close family member, natural disaster, financial troubles, etc. are bound to come up in everyone’s life and cause a lot of stress. Such situations cannot be avoided, but it is best to accept them, however difficult it may be, to be able to cope with the stress caused by them.

Give up the desire to control: It is important to remember that not everything is within one’s control. What cannot be controlled has to be accepted the way it is. For instance, you cannot control the behavior of another person. But, what you can control is your reaction towards his behavior. If you react by accepting his or her behavior the way it is, it will not stress you anymore.

Look at the Bright Side: No matter how difficult things look, there is always a bright side to them. If nothing else, there is huge potential for personal growth on them. Remember the adage, “What won’t kill you, will make you stronger.’ Apply that to your own life and look for silver lining amongst the darkest of clouds.

Learn Forgiveness: As easy as it may sound, forgiving people for their mistakes can be very difficult. It involves letting go of your own viewpoint and really forgiving the person for hurting or upsetting you. But, once you learn to forgive people for the small mistakes they make, you will find yourself able to forgive them for larger ones as well. By forgiving people and letting go of whatever resentment or hurt you may feel, you will find that your stress levels are incredibly low.

Make sure you come back next week for more stress management tips.