Don’t get stressed 
by life’s curveballs

Isn’t the saying “the best laid plans of mice and men”…? In effect you think things are just planned out right and bang – life throws you a curveball. It may have been something totally unexpected, or something that may have been caused by a family member which makes you fume, or you may be upset, frustrated or just completely deflated. The thing is, is how can you really deal with stuff like this?
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Apr 2015, 18:43 BST

Recently, I had cause to think about this as something didn’t go to plan at all. I noted that I felt really calm, there was after all nothing I could do, and no feeling that I had would change the situation that we faced, it would only affect me and how I felt. Now I could waste hours mithering about it, getting stressed and upset or I could simply put the reactionary feelings to one side and focus on a plan B.

For me, the choice that I had, either getting all worked up a or being quite philosophical about the whole thing, is key to dealing with these curve balls. It’s not about denying that you have a feeling about it, sure, I was cross, but in many ways that passed quite quickly, because being cross, stressed, frustrated, angry, couldn’t change anything.

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When I was first introduced to the concept of choosing how you feel, I didn’t really buy it, my reaction was “it’s not as simple as that” which is what you may be thinking now. All I can say is try it, the next time your in-tray is piled high, or your train is late try thinking: “I’m going to choose not to be stressed about that.”

Just notice how you feel, and keep repeating that you’re not stressed, you’re choosing not to be, because your negative feeling isn’t going to change the situation. It does take practice, but you’ll find that a lot of curveballs you can actually dodge.

Andrea Morrison is author of The Feel Good Factor in 30 Days, www.andreamorrison.co.uk