Stress from expecting: how to help yourself in this state?

Stress is something that all of us overcame, overcome and will overcome. We are not just insured from it; we are condemned to it. You need to realize it immediately. But that is not a reason for pessimism. That is an occasion to understand the problem.

There are a variety of definitions of the term-stress, in the volume of which a lot of things are launched. There is a temptation to call by stress all, which we could not like, but that is the wrong way, which leads to a bad endlessness. But with the purpose of stress-management you need to work out such an understanding of stress, which is applicable in terms of management activity.  

The most important in applicable understanding of stress is to understand that stress is the break of a normal regime of functioning such a system, as a human being, a specialist or a manager. Break in the normal regime of functioning such a system is able to provoke breaches in functioning of its subsystems (for example, heath, motivation, discipline, plans) and systems, which depend on it (labor collective, professional and positional activity, family).  Also, the resource component is important in structural- functional understanding of stress. Not accidently one of the leading specialists in stressful states- Richard Lazarus- defined stress as a state or a feeling, when a person realizes that demands to him increase his personnel and social resources, which he is ready to mobilize. In other words, that is what we feel, when we think, that we lost control over events.

There is an interpretation of stress as an unpredictable instinctive reaction to unexpected events. Stress consists of this true reaction of our psychic reflection to it.   

Stress management starts with its rationalization, based on that it could be thought over as a function, to be more precise, as a dysfunction, then, consequently, it could and should be the subject of reasonable and goal-oriented management.  

One of the varieties of working stresses, also stresses of management activity, is a stress of expectation. It appears and develops when we move to realization of something important for us, for our organization, our business, or event. It could be the conduct of some event, if we are organizers ourselves, or realization of our role, if we have a status of a participant. Tense expectation, which is followed by feelings of worries, impatience, growing absence of self-confidence could turn into the syndrome of failure expectation. Especially if there are memories about such factors.  

Is it possible to decrease and even to remodulate this stress, without losing concentration on the event? It is real, and the following actions would help in this case:  

• Try to think over stress from expectation as about some pre-emptive sign, which stimulates us to more attention and responsibility;
• Take care in advance about your consciousness during the coming event, preliminary removing all, which is not necessary, which disturbs and takes time of your perception;  
• Get ready for different, hypothetically possible scenarios of the future event in order to be ready if something happens not as it was planned (methods of visualization could be used);
• Make plans in case unforeseen events happen, and, having analyzed all possible results, get more strict understanding what could happen in future;
• Check all the components of the event or your participation in it long in advance, but not the day before;
• Victory over fears would give you more forces in order to realize and control the event.

Usage of these and other approaches from the toolkit of self-management, planning and emotional intellect could become a constant component of your professional activity.