How to Stay Peaceful and Avoid Stress at Work

Work brings together people of different temperaments, characters, and behaviors, and this often causes friction, resentment, and stress.

People spend hours at work every day, but work often causes stress, exhaustion, and unhappiness.

• Sometimes, the boss is too demanding.
• Colleagues might be rude.
• There might be too much stress due to too much work.
• The working conditions might not be comfortable.
• The job might be boring.
• There could be competition or envy between the workers.
• The customers might be too demanding or criticizing.
• They might feel they are utilized and underpaid.

These are some of the reasons why most people feel stressed at work or are unhappy about it.

This is why people eagerly wait for their vacation. The vacation provides a way to escape the daily grind and find peace.

The good news is that you do not have to wait for your vacation. You can learn to stay calm and peaceful and enjoy every moment right where you are. A peaceful life, unaffected by the environment, starts inside you in your mind and does not need to depend on external conditions.

By all means, travel on a vacation and enjoy the time away from work. This is good, healthy, and desirable. However, you cannot do it too often unless you are a millionaire.

You need, once in a while, to get out of your head and your life, all the stress and competition of work, and relax, but what can you do if you cannot take a vacation now and then?

Maybe you cannot always go on a vacation to get some mental quiet and peace, but you can learn to enjoy inner quietude while working. You can quiet your mind and reduce stress, even while working in a stressful environment.

Now, you probably wonder how you can do that. I am not going to talk here about meditation, though this is one of the best techniques for gaining peace of mind.

What I want to do is suggest a few simple tips to enjoy a sense of inner peace at your workplace, no matter what the conditions at work.

Tips for Being Peaceful and Avoiding Stress at Work

I want to suggest a few things you can do to reduce stress at work, enjoy your time at work, and maintain good relations with your boss, colleagues, or customers.

You will need to spend some effort and time to get these tips working for you. You might not succeed at the first attempts, but if you keep following these tips earnestly, you will gradually begin to experience peace of mind.

1. Talk Calmly

If the people you meet at work speak in a loud voice or are impolite and stressed, you will probably react and behave accordingly. You will respond by raising your voice and getting stressed and tense.

However, things will be different if you wait a few seconds before responding and refuse to react instinctively. It would then be easier to stay calm and talk and respond peacefully.

If you can stay peaceful, the people around you will instinctively react accordingly, and you will be less stressed and calmer.

In this way, you become a leading power, regardless of your position at work.

2. Don’t Speak in a Loud Voice

If you catch yourself shouting or speaking in a loud voice, immediately lower it.

Talk in a medium pitch voice, not too loud or too low, and don’t let the loudness or pitch of other people’s voices influence yours.

3. Greet the People You Meet at Work

Saying good morning with a smile, greeting someone for good work, and congratulating your colleagues and boss on their birthday contribute to better relationships and less stress at work.

4. Take a Few, Slow, Deep Breaths

Whenever you feel tension or anger building in you, take a few deep, slow breaths before you talk or react.

5. Repeat Relaxing Affirmations

Each day, before you enter your workplace, repeat several times the following affirmations, with feeling, faith, and attention:

• “My mind is peaceful throughout the whole day.”
• “I radiate peace around me.”
• “I talk peacefully, politely, and with a smile.”
• “It is my choice to act and respond peacefully.”

6. Use Positive Words

Pay attention to the words you think, say, or write to avoid negative words. Strive to use positive words instead. Pay also attention to your self-talk, striving to make it positive.

7. Be polite

Always be polite to people. Being rude or inconsiderate will result in similar behavior, which can aggravate the situation.

Even if people are rude and impolite to you, stay polite. This is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, you show them that they cannot affect your state of mind and feelings. You might even be surprised that they change their behavior and feel bad for being impolite.

8. Visualize a Place Where You Would Love to Be

Several times during your workday, find a quiet place. It may be at your desk, or if it is not quiet enough there, it can be in the bathroom, an empty room or some other quiet spot.

For several moments, visualize a beautiful location that you love or some event that made you happy. Feel as if you are there now, and enjoy the rising feelings within you.

Make the mental image and feelings as real as possible and enjoy them for a few moments. It is like going for a short vacation. You will feel better and calmer afterward.

9. Focus on What You Are Doing

While working, focus on what you are doing. Put there your full attention. This will keep your mind off disturbing thoughts.

10. Do not Overthink

Overthinking creates worries and lack of peace and can magnify unpleasant feelings. Don’t waste your time and energy analyzing and thinking about people’s motives and behavior and why they said this or that.

11. Take a Few Deep Breaths

Before speaking with someone whom you dislike or fear or someone who makes you feel tense or angry, take a few deep breaths and then visualize the two of you conversing peacefully and harmoniously.

12. Don’t Take Things Personally

Sometimes, your boss or colleagues might have problems at home, a problem with their cars. They might not have slept enough at night or have some personal issues. This might make them grumpy, unpleasant, and impolite. This behavior has nothing to do with you; you should not take this personally.

In these circumstances, stay calm, and if possible keep an emotional distance from them until they calm down.

13. Not All Tasks Are Pleasant

Work is work and might not always be pleasant. There might be tasks we do not like. This is part of the job, and we have to accept it. Accepting and doing an unpleasant task despite our inner resistance contributes to better relations and less stress, anger, and resentment.

14. Be Friendly and Considerate

Be friendly and considerate toward all people. We often get treated by others the same way we treat them. Politeness, consideration, and respect generate similar reactions.

These are a few ways to help you maintain a state of inner peace and avoid stress at work. You can find more ways and more guidance about this important topic in the book Inner Peace in the Busy Daily Life.

Image source – DepositPhotos