How to Cope With Stress: Don't Be a Pefectionist!

Learn how to cope with stress using an easy stress relief technique. Out of the many stress management strategies out there, this stress relief tip is one of the easiest! Don't be a perfectionist.

DON'T Be a Perfectionist! Wait! You think it's silly, right? Even I though it was when I first heard about it! You have no clue how powerful this technique is.

Don't try to be perfect in everything you do. Why?

Because you're bound for failure. Don't take that offensively, but it's true. When I try to do everything perfect, and then expect it to be perfect, I always end up disappointed.

Fairly simple theory, but it happens to everyone. Everyone has that ego, to be perfect. What happens is they feel sad and disappointed, and stressed that things didn't go their way.

Hold up! I'm not saying don't be confident or proud. All I'm saying is do your best at whatever you do, but don't expect it to turn out perfect just because you strived for perfection.

So how does this stress relief technique work? Let's take a look...

A Closer Look at the "Perfectionist" Problem

People come up with all kinds of answers on how to cope with stress, but they never consider changing themselves. We live in a world filled with ego-maniacs and perfectionists.

They think they are doing everything perfect today, but tomorrow, they get all stressed out and disappointed because it just happened to not go their way.

If you're one of them, now is your chance to change yourself. Before you start learning how to cope with stress using other methods, first master this one.

So why does being a perfectionist cause stress?

You're Always Worrying About "What Could Go Wrong"

Think about the last time you tried to be flawless. My guess is that you were constantly reminding yourself about the things that you could have done better. Or the things that could go wrong.

Or the things that may not work out as best as you had planned. All this anticipation causes stress. You're never at ease when you try to be perfect. Everything seems like it's "on the line".

And of course, when you eventually find out that things didn't go your way, the stress just adds on. You feel mad at yourself, and all of a sudden you're in a negative, stressed out mood.

And this level of stress is a "no-no", trust me. I've been there myself, and it's not a pleasant situation.

Want another downside of trying to be flawless?

You gradually lose confidence in yourself. Why? Because that's what happens to anyone who fails repeatedly and doesn't know why. But now you know why, so you can save yourself from having to go through the trouble.

It's a scary situation, and hopefully you can avoid that.

Your Peace of Mind is "Out the Window"

Where's your peace of mind when you try to be flawless. Just think about it... You don't want to make any mistakes. One mistake, and there goes your peace of mind.

Basically that means you lose your calmness almost (or always) every time you do something. Wait a second... All this explaining on how to cope with stress won't fully make sense unless I give you an example.

Humans Always Make Mistakes

Using an example with bosses always works. Because most people work for someone. I will talk about two kinds of bosses. I'll give you an example of how it feels to work for each boss, so you can understand how perfectionism causes stress.

Let's say your boss is an easy going man, who tries to bring out the best in everyone. Every team project that you do, he always tells you what he expects, but he leaves the rest to you. He doesn't demand anything from you. As long as you do a good (not perfect) job, he's happy.

How do you feel in this situation?

You don't feel much pressure do you? Of course not. And what does little pressure lead to? You guessed it, less stress. If you have little pressure and stress, you can be more confident in doing a good job. You can do this without the fear of "something going wrong".

As you can see, this boss is not trying to be perfect. He doesn't put pressure on his team. Likewise, if you also don't try to be perfect, you are putting less pressure on yourself. Always remember; less pressure means less stress.

Learning how to cope with stress using this method is very effective.

Now, let's take a look at the other boss.

He's a man who expects and demands everything to be perfect and flawless. If not, he punishes (corporate style, of course!) you. Whenever you're presented with a group project, he drills the information into your heads, making it clear that he wants perfect and nothing less.

Well, this is a good attitude for a boss, but as far as penalizing people who make mistakes, that's where it becomes inefficient.

So how do you feel in this situation?

You feel like the world is on your shoulders, don't you. Why? You don't have the confidence to work because that fear of making mistakes is drilled in your brain. This means you can't do the job to the best of your ability.

And it causes stress because there is a lot of pressure to "get it right".

If you are a perfectionist like this boss, the pressure and stress will be on you. So, knowing how to cope with stress includes not beating yourself up over mistakes.

So, you would obviously prefer the first boss, right? If so, then you should treat yourself like the first boss.

A Valuable Lesson Learned

So now you know that learning how to cope with stress involves not being a perfectionist. If you can understand that, then you'll eliminate your stress in no time!

You'll be calm, cool and relaxed. If something goes wrong, you won't panic. You won't stress out. Because in the end, it all comes down to your stress levels.

Well, that's what you're here for after all! So take advantage of this lesson on how to cope with stress using this method.

Remember; Feel free to use this website for all everything you want to know about stress. Explore. Be stress free forever!

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