Why Is Positive Thinking Key To Stress Management?

By Jennifer Ranking

Stress management has been covered from a variety of angles and perspectives in the last couple of years, especially within the tech realm, where strict deadlines, combined with general building complexity have become a massive stress source. Let's analyse how positive thinking could be the key to stress management in these 4 points.

Definition: What Is Positive Thinking?

In order to embrace specific psychological behaviours, it's important to define what positive thinking is, as it's always misunderstood. Positive thinking, in fact, doesn't simply refer to ignoring reality, dreaming about a better one, but instead focuses on embracing the good things to overcome obstacles and " bad days". Imagine positive thinking as a ray of sunshine which pierces through a cloudy day. Positive thinking, especially within a working environment, is something which can tangibly help in keeping the morale high, especially in highly stressful timeframes throughout the year.

What Are The Best Positive Thinking Practices?

As said above, positive thinking isn't just a matter of reality deformation but is beneficial to stay motivated and to keep the pace high during those days which require an extra boost in terms of productivity. There are a lot of positive thinking practices which could actionably help you during extremely stressful days, all of them resulting in extremely beneficial things for you. It has been proven, in fact, that productivity significantly increases when you're working with a happy mindset, as it keeps you focused on your goals, without distracting you from pressure and, subsequently, reducing your stress levels tangibly. The best practices are relying a lot on creating a comfort zone which delivers small (but tangible) " happy signals" to you throughout the entire day, such as getting a message from your loved one, for example. These small things, if accumulated, will keep you going even if your day is becoming stressful.

Some Working Examples

The application of positive thinking strategies is tangible within small companies and teams, given the fact the errors, problems within the management or with clients and everything in between are somewhat tangible and easily seen by everyone within the team. Studies on this very matter have been done in working environments ranging from front end development to residential conveyancing solicitors, leading to the net conclusion stating how impactful positive thinking has been when certain problems faced the surface within the employees' working life.

Does This Apply To Solely Employees?

Definitely not. Positive thinking applied to stress management could be used by managers, directors and owners, especially due to its logical "emulation factor": if an employee sees his/her directors facing problems with a positive attitude, chances that he/she will apply this mentality to his/her everyday work life are pretty high, leading to a better work ecosystem. It's important, in fact, to understand how impactful having a leading team with a solid mentality is, especially within stressful environments such as finance, health and technology. A positive, forward-thinking managerial team is a winning team, especially in today's era.

How To Set This Up

It's easy to say that "positive thinking will help you in managing your stress levels" but, putting that into action is something completely different. A good practice would be, indeed, creating support groups where everyone can share his/her problems and worries, with the whole team helping afterwards with positive thinking strategies. Receiving tangible help (even a hug helps sometimes!) is something incredibly important and relevant to increase morale. These "team building" moments can be done, for example, instead of those boring meetings which are more harmful than helpful, for example!

Understand When Stress Is Evolving Into Something Deeper

Stress and depression are often connected. It's very important to understand when and where stress symptoms are evolving into a much deeper, frightening matter. Stating when stress requires professional help, which is very different from "positive thinking" is a must for a manager or a director since your employees' mental health will definitely affect your company's success. Of course, given the delicacy of the subject, it's important to act professionally and with discrete, polite manners. There's nothing wrong in asking your employee to get some help and, in the long run, it will definitely help both him/her and the company.

To Conclude

Positive thinking may seem like a "facade" or something "cheesy" but, in reality, is a must in today's era. The application of positive thinking mentalities, combined with a solid health plan could drastically and tangibly help you when struggling, especially in extremely stressful periods. With this in mind, it's also important to embrace your strengths when doing it, as this will massively improve the results your positive thinking is trying to deliver.