How to let go of anxiety when it comes to your work life.
Sometimes you’re lucky at a job you love. Other times you’re looking for the next big move. On a more challenging event, you find yourself stuck at a job you revolt and can’t find the right time to call it quits. We are all victims of mental drainage when it comes to the stress work brings along with.
We talked with Dr. Modia Batterjee, a Certified Resilience Practitioner, a health and wellness educator and the published author of “Redefine your Bee-ing,” where she enlightened us with how to handle our work lives with less anxiety. Dr. Batterjee has her doctorate degree in Health Administration.
- Undermining your capabilities
We have all underestimated our capabilities on many occasions. But how do we get out of this ploy? “I do my best and ask for honest feedback from people I trust. I take their suggestions seriously and try to improve myself,” Dr. Batterjee said. We have to acknowledge that there is always room for growth, as Dr. Modia believes. She added, “As long as I am getting positive feedback I keep going. My story with the radio is a prime example of me underestimating my talents. I never thought of myself as a radio personality, but the director at the radio saw something and insisted that I have the talent. I also try to learn as much as I can and improve a little bit every day.”
- Underestimating change
We, humans, are always a work in progress. Sometimes, we have the tendency to underestimate how essential change is in our lives. Dr. Batterjee shared with us some techniques on how to ground yourself and cope with change.
“I use nature to ground myself. I like to sit in my garden and make sure I am barefoot to help myself feel attached to the earth. This practice is called “Earthing”. It helps a person feel connected to nature and recharge positive energy. That helps me get perspective and realize that life is all about change and that it is something to look forward to.” Dr. Modia also shared a different perspective about change. “I have learned that in change there is so much potential. Change can be really exciting. It is similar to an update in technology as it’s an opportunity to fix bugs and make things work better.”
- Knowing when to cope and when to walk away
We tend to stick to jobs that are no longer beneficial to us just because of how much time and effort we’ve invested. You should always listen to your gut feeling when you’re trying to make a life altering decision. “I usually let my intuition guide me on when I need to walk away. The biggest indicators are when I begin to feel like I am going against the grain and need to invest too much energy on getting myself motivated.”
Dr. Batterjee also explained that to cope with coworkers we don’t necessarily favor, we have to try to understand what causes them to behave a certain way. We can also cope with tough situations by keeping a healthy distance and not taking matters too personally. If you are passionate about your work and feel like it’s purposeful, you must put your full focus on it and not waste time on distractions that take you from your path.
- Giving yourself a break
“The moment I find myself feeling exhausted and uninterested in doing my work, I know that I need a break. Over the years I have learned to pace myself at work; I take mini breaks from daily tasks, and mini vacations during the week.” Dr. Modia says that by doing so she avoids burnout and is able to focus better. Don’t underestimate a small break every couple of hours, it does wonders to your productivity level.
- Learning to stop overthinking
Who else doesn’t get the sleep they need because their brains won’t stop thinking? Guilty as charged. Dr. Modia described overthinking by saying, “it happens when a person is stuck in a certain neurological pathway of thinking. This pathway is usually placed in fear and uncertainty which stimulates the primal brain of the need to survive.”
Here are a few methods to overcome this tiring habit. The first is to have awareness. “Learn to be aware of it when it’s happening. If you find yourself doubting or feeling anxious, take a step back to observe the situation and think about how you’re reacting to it.” Dr. Batterjee continued, “in that very moment of awareness is when you can stop overthinking and switch from survival to strategy.” Another tactic is to try not to think of what can go wrong, as that creates fear. Keeping an open mind helps us think of the potential possibilities that could go right.
- Brushing off your mistakes and moving on
It’s important to use your mistakes as learning experiences. As soon as you understand why you made this mistake, you’ll feel free and be able to move on without hopefully falling into the same trap again. Dr. Batterjee said that the only way she has learned to move past her mistakes was by forgiving herself for not knowing better and trying to rectify the wrongdoing.
