STOP Putting So Much Pressure On Yourself

We face enough stress in life regularly, and in one way or another, some of us put more on ourselves, sometimes without even realizing it. One of the primary keys to stopping putting so much pressure on ourselves is to recognize when we might be unnecessarily making things more difficult for ourselves.

Some of us indeed tend to self-sabotage, but there are things we can learn to do to stop self-sabotaging. We have to be our own support system, even if we have outside support; this way, we can relieve some stress rather than put more on ourselves.

How To Stop Self-Imposed Pressure & Stress

The sooner you nip this issue in the bud, the easier it can be to maintain a healthy, happy environment for yourself. Let’s talk about a few things.

High Achievement vs. Perfectionism

Some people easily slip into perfectionists habits without realizing there’s a better way to do their best and without beating themselves the entire way. Many perfectionists believe they need to achieve perfection or have failed (at least on some level.) There’s no way this belief doesn’t lead to stress!

The first step is recognizing the difference between being a perfectionist and a high-achiever. Isn’t it less stressful to have a “do your best” attitude rather than a “must be perfect” frame of mind?

We can find ourselves holding on, emotionally, to mistakes we’ve made and noticing more of what we do wrong than what we get right. Holding on like this causes anxiety when we do good jobs that aren’t perfect. That being said, there are better ways to handle it.

Leading A Balanced Life

We can live a full life, but if it isn’t balanced, we can become over-stressed too frequently. How do we draw the line between being overwhelmed and excitedly busy?

It starts with paying attention to how we feel at the end of the day, weekend, or week. Life is busy; some of us have kids, jobs, college, families, overtime, illnesses, dishes, laundry, trash, pets, and so on. 

Step back and start paying attention to how you feel at the end of your day, especially at the end of your “weekend” or days off (whenever you’re about to start a new week with new challenges to face). Take a look at your life and schedule to see if you have time for handling those essential self-care activities. 

Start with the basic self-care activities.

• Getting Enough Sleep
• Engaging In Regular Exercise
• Nurturing Relationships

Taking care of ourselves is a crucial part of stress management. We should always find time to do the little things that help us de-stress.

Let Go of Pessimism, Become More Optimistic

Unrealistic positive thinking isn’t focusing on anything and everything good while ignoring our significant problems or cues. That tends to make mistakes that create more stress.

Realistic positive thinking is when we focus on the positive things without ignoring or failing to address the issues that require attention and response. This mindset or frame of mind allows us to become more effective in life, with less stress to struggle with.

Optimistic thinking is a specific pattern of thinking that allows us to focus our attention on our accomplishments that increase and maximize our confidence, allowing us to do our best throughout the future.

Be All In Your Feelings, The Feel Better

It isn’t healthy to constantly stuff our feelings away or deny how we feel. 

To help relieve the pressure and get through stressful times, we should become more aware of how we feel and why. Talk to a friend, family member, or therapist, write your feelings down in a journal, work towards activities that provide a healthy emotional release, and move forward.

Accept Your Weaknesses

Not only should we accept our weaknesses, but everyone else’s as well. Of course, we can give ourselves a break to destress, but how about giving one to everyone else?

Key points here: don’t take things too personally, don’t hold grudges, and try to find the best in others by understanding how things might feel from their perspective. Forgive yourself and others for past mistakes and mishaps, and release some pent-up stress you likely didn’t know existed.

It’s healthy to put a certain amount of pressure on ourselves. However, too much can lead to an unhappy life, over stress, fatigue, and a general feeling of stress. Let it go!