Beat Stress While Serving
When we’re serving, it can be easy to spread ourselves thin trying to do all that needs to be done. These tips can help you refocus and keep stress at a manageable level.
Remember, different people, handle stress differently. You may not react to a stressful situation the way your co-worker does; that is how it should be. Our own comparison to others can be one of our greatest sources of discouragement and anxiety, so keep in mind that each of us is different – and that is a good thing.
Since we’re all different, it only makes sense that we all recharge in different ways. Know yourself; how do you recharge emotionally, physically, spiritually? What are some things that you find relaxing, things that energize you? Hanging out with friends? Getting alone time to read or journal? Exercising? Watching a basketball game? Try keeping a journal to track what encourages and renews you and what drains you. Note what recharges you quickly and what recharges you more slowly. Knowing how you recharge can help you make more time for those recharging activities.
Make a list of what is stressing you out. Preaching? Preparing to teach? Family situations? Sometimes we need to put a name to what is stressing us instead of stopping after identifying that we are stressed. This can help us to find ways to lighten the stress load. Sometimes determining your priorities can help you determine what is currently causing you the most stress, because those priorities may be out of order when you examine how your days are playing out. What do you spend money on, make time for, allow to interrupt you? Those are your priorities. Are they the priorities you want to have? If not, what could be done to reorder your priorities?
Determine a small way to cut down your stress level. After determining your priorities and areas of stress, determine one small helpful change that can be made in each area. It can be as small as taking five minutes to begin decluttering your workspace or replying to an e-mail you have been meaning to get to. If the step you choose at first still seems unmanageable, break the step down further into smaller pieces. No step is too small if it is a step towards reducing your stress level.
Don’t be afraid to be new at something. Don’t be afraid to try and fail, and to make mistakes. We all have to start learning somewhere. And making mistakes is a significant part of learning. Once we start viewing mistakes as lessons or steps towards learning, some of the fear around trying new things and making mistakes can dissipate. Sometimes those around us may wish they had courage to step out, and our action in trying something new in spite of the reality that we will make mistakes can give those around us the final push of courage to help them step out as well.
Stay flexible. Remember, your to-do list is a “suggestion” and not a “law.” To-do lists are meant to be helpful, to help us organize our days. When our to-do lists become a ball and chain or a reminder of the ways in which we fall short of perfection - that is when it is time to simplify our to-do list into what is humanly possible to do in one day and remind ourselves that our to-do list is there to serve us, not the other way around. On the field, it is easy to have a plan for the day and have that plan be scrapped the instant we wake up because of a more pressing need. Remember to give yourself grace to be flexible and change your to-do list as your circumstances change.
Keep an eye out for the Creator at work in the little things. Watch for the little glimpses of beauty and good that He has placed all around us. Sometimes we can become so stressed and busy that we get tunnel vision and miss out on the little reminders our Creator has placed around us that show His love for us and control over every aspect of our lives. Plus, a walk in nature can break us out of a rut and help us look at things from a new perspective.
Be patient with yourself. Learning takes time (often more time than we would like), and you only truly fail when you refuse to get back up and try again. Life on the field can be stretching, to say the least. Giving yourself grace is like being elastic during those tough times to help you stretch and not break. Sometimes, when we forget to give ourselves patience, a visual reminder can help. Put post-it notes where you can see them with verses or reminders to give yourself patience and grace throughout the day.
Realize that rest is not optional. It is essential. It is easy to think of rest as the one genuinely flexible time slot in our day and to shave off hours of sleep or rest when the to-do list seems too long. But if we ignore our need for rest, we will not get as much done with the time we spend. When we are low on rest, we tend to have trouble focusing on tasks, and problem-solving becomes extremely difficult. We may also find even the most minor task seems overwhelming or that we seem to snap more easily at those around us. One good way to test if you are getting enough rest is to examine how often you get sick when you take a break. If vacations are mostly spent getting over being sick, your body may be trying to communicate that it needs to rest more frequently in order to keep running without breaking down the moment you take a break.
Plan “Decompress” time. This is time in between serving to momentarily unwind, relax, and transition to the next thing. Transition or decompress time can be as simple as staying in your car to listen to a whole song before heading to your next meeting, pausing midday for a tea/coffee break, or planning a sightseeing stop on the way to your next task. These mini breaks help our brains to switch more easily from task to task and give us a tiny bit of refreshment that can help re-energize us and help us focus more easily on the next task.
