24 Strategies to Be Relaxed during these Stressful Times

This is one of the most stressful times for sure by any stretch of imagination. It can also lead to anxiety. We might have planned some vacations for this time and a lot of other things which cannot be done now. The only way to go through this phase of our lives is through relaxation. A relaxed mind will enable us to navigate the tides of uncertainty much better. So, my aim with this article is to give simple suggestions to stay relaxed and make the most of this time of uncertainty. At the same time, I also share strategies which can reduce our stress levels and enjoy life more.

Stress is one of the leading causes of depression and considering the pace of our modern lives we should pause and reevaluate our lives on a constant basis. As Mahatma Gandhi said “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” I am sure for all of us the pace of our lives whether we like it or not has reduced.

Here are some simple strategies to be relaxed, stay happy and enjoy life in general.

Use white space – What I mean by this is there is no need to cram every single activity in a 10 hour period. Use this time to reflect and renew yourself. This might be a good time to see how far you have and where you want to go in your life.

No peer pressure – With the advent of social media this is more important. We might see a lot of people doing a lot of things. First see if this applies to you and if it doesn't you can ignore it. So do what you enjoy and no comparisons.

Lesser expectations – Sometimes we think that if we don't go somewhere we will not be happy. So start with lower expectations and find some hobbies within the confines of your home. Some of them for me are writing, reading and exercising. You can also engage in painting, music or anything that is value adding.

Focus on others – It involves taking the focus away from you and show interest in other people’s problems. When you start focusing on the problems of others you become more relaxed and understand how good you have it.

Take time to respond – In a delightful book I read recently “Forged in Crisis” one strategy of top leaders was they took time to respond. They didn’t just say what came to their mind. So, take a good amount of time before you respond in haste. This does take practice but the payoff is enormous. As Stephen Covey said, “Between the stimulus and response there is a space and in that space lies your power.”

Develop resilience – Again in the book I read recently “Forged in Crisis” one strategy of top leaders was they were resilient. There will always be a crisis in a leader’s life and it is the ability to bounce back that determines the key to your overall well-being. You cannot be relaxed if you are angry so you need to be objective of any situation you are in. Taking control of your emotions is one of the keys to staying relaxed. This is of course a time of crisis and this is where the spine of true leaders is stiffened.

Have an abundance mentality – There is plenty of credit to go around. Enjoy others success and avoid the necessity to prove yourself on a constant basis.

Take one day at a time – What I have found useful is to take one day at a time. Just concentrate on what must be done that day and once that is taken care sleep peacefully. The rest of the days will take care of itself. This is the way to navigate crisis and uncertainty.

Become more patient – One of the reasons we are stressed is because we feel a lack of time. We want to get everything done in a hurry. The way to overcome this is to become more patient. Of course I need to work really hard on this one. It is not an easy one to implement.

Ask yourself the question “Will this matter a year from now” -This thinking puts life in perspective. Yes, we all blow things out of proportion at times but this question can help us get our bearings right.Most probably we will all be back to our normal routines.

Write your life sentence – I think this suggestion came from Clare Booth Luce. Imagine yourself at your deathbed and assess how you would view your life. Would you be happy with what you are doing now? If you are not happy make changes now. Once you know deeply what you are in it for you will be more purposeful and relaxed at the same time.

Practice Solitude – This can be just 10 min being alone. All experts suggest to practicing the magic of solitude and some of the great works have come about due to a lot of time spent being alone. Of course I don’t find this easy at all.

Don’t argue – Yes sometimes we might have all the facts and hence we can argue endlessly to ensure we are always right. But as a wise man said do you want to be right or happy. Choosing the latter might be a better way to go.

Be humble – Humility and inner peace go hand in hand. As Ken Blanchard said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but it is thinking of yourself less.”

Appreciate others-This is an amazing strategy as this takes the focus of yourself and as they say you can only get what you give out.

Know when you are angry – The key is to understand when we are not feeling good and quickly change that attitude to positive. When you are about to blow up get out of that place and process your emotions alone. Once you process through the anger sanity returns.  

Do one thing at a time– Allocate some time for doing one activity at a time without distraction. As someone said Multitasking is the death of creativity.

Be grateful – Yes being grateful is the first step towards being relaxed and happy. Yes having a long-term vision is good but only if we appreciate what we have we can be truly happy.

Be happy with what you have – Don’t postpone happiness. This is a follow-up to the earlier point. Unless we are happy with where we are it is difficult to enjoy our day to day lives.

Get enough sleep and rise early-This is a very important one as if we do arise early then we get some alone time to plan the day better and maybe even get a quick workout. However it depends on when you get to sleep as well so plan to be early to sleep to early rise. Of course this is not applicable to everyone.

Concentrate on love -As Mother Teresa said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”

Go full blast today – The bottom line is we only have a finite number of days to live. When we think along those lines life does become more important and we don’t waste time on the wrong things. Give your best every day and other things will be taken care.

Understand your weakness – It is important to be aware of your weakness and then identify how you can improve on that area.

Reflect and evaluate constantly – When you feel stress coming take a time out and reassess the situation. I think stress arises due to a perceived lack of time and lack of control. So, we need to constantly reevaluate and assess our pace of lives on a constant basis to ensure we stay grounded.

You are not alone – Life becomes easier when you have a lighter heart. This is another way of saying don’t take yourself too seriously. All our problems have been faced by a lot of people and we are not alone in this struggle.

All the strategies above are meant to reduce our overall stress and stay relaxed. Ultimately whatever we can do to increase our happiness and reduce our stress levels is well worth the effort.

The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.