There are some things about yourself you can’t change. What you can change is your attitude toward them. Instead of wishing you could have your best friend’s confidence or your boyfriend’s patience, start understanding your most persistent qualities, and learn how to make them serve you better.
If you’re a workaholic
Not being able to step away from your work, physically and mentally, can lead to some serious health hazards. Panic attacks, migraines and tension headaches aside, your relationships with others and with yourself suffer. Keep in mind that relaxing doesn’t mean doing nothing. When your weekend comes, devote some time to starting a blog, learning photography or taking a sewing class. Creative pursuits are relaxing but also productive. Tuning up the creative part of your mind will improve your mental health and ability to do quality work. Focus on quality, not quantity. Measure your overall success in joy, not money or steps on the company ladder.
If you’re oversensitive
If you can’t stop torturing yourself about some comment your mom/cab driver/boss said, stop wondering if you’re crazy for being so affected by it. Instead, interpret the thing that’s driving you nuts as a message from your gut. Why is it bothering you? What is this feeling really trying to tell you? Don’t get mad and lash out at the person who said it. Use it as a way to get to know yourself really well. Be thankful that you’re perceptive to the things that trigger certain feelings in you. This is the starting point for emotional intelligence.
Check out these four workaholic-geared tips for finding a better balance >>
If you over-think things
Thinking in endless circles about something won’t actually change the outcome. There are some things in life we just can’t control. Even if you know this, do you find it hard to stop the obsessive thoughts? Give yourself a designated amount of time for your imagination to run wild. Set a timer, get your journal, and pour out all your thoughts to paper. Then step away from the issue entirely. After you do this, you’ll be able to see things more clearly — what you can and can’t control, and what you can do to change it.
If you’re a “fraidy cat”
We all wish we could live life fearlessly. Being bold in all aspects of life, from your dating life to your career, always seems to earn big rewards. Do you tend to think too much about the worst-case scenario? Don’t try to fight it. Be aware of it. Question it. Explore it. Once you get to know it really, really well, you’ll find that in your most fearful moments, anxiety rises and subsides on its own. Allow it to run its course. You’ll see that it won’t ruin you. It’s not you; it’s your fear. Don’t let it dominate you.
For more strategies on coping, check out ways to calm anxious thoughts >>
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