You've encountered stress countless times. And everyone has their own way of dealing with stress. Whether it's taking a quick walk, drinking some water, or reading, knowing how to deal with stress effectively is essential to both your personal and professional life. Stress is a natural part of existence and knowing how to deal with it effectively will be the difference between success and failure. Here are some effective stress management techniques used by some of the most successful people in the world.

Taking A Walk

Despite its simplicity, taking a walk does several things for you. First, it removes you from the environment or situation that's causing the stress. And by removing you and taking you as far away as possible from the source of stress, you're much more likely to be able to think more clearly. Taking a walk also has the added benefit of promoting more blood flow to your brain. Your legs are powerful pumps that help circulate more blood throughout your body. And taking a stroll outside also gives you a nice breath of fresh air. All these factors combine to give you an edge in thinking more clearly and then deciding what to do with the situation.

Take A Nap

Or get a good night sleep. Your ability to think clearly can be inhibited if you're not well rested. Taking a quick nap or attempting to get a good night sleep will help reduce tension and allow you to wake up with renewed energy to tackle the problem at hand. Taking a nap or getting some sleep is also effective at removing you emotionally from the problem. Constantly dwelling on the source of stress might not yield any immediate answers. However, waking up from a good nap may give you some newfound perspectives on the situation.

Writing Things Down

Sometimes the thoughts in our head aren't as clear as we'd like them to be. Sitting down and writing down what's stressing us out and clearly detailing the event/incident can often give us insights into the situation. Writing things down also helps to calm us down if the stress is high and caused anxiety. The simple act of writing and keeping the notes also helps us recall past events that are similar to this one. And you can look back at some previous notes you've written to see if there are similarities and draw conclusions.

Do Something Nice For Someone

As odd as it sounds, the more we think to ourselves and about ourselves the more likely we are to obsess over our own stress. Sometimes we forget that we're all in this together and that everyone also goes through stress - just like us. By doing something nice for someone else, it removes us from our current self and allows us to empathize and think about another human being. It's a simple act of kindness that helps someone else and at the same time, buys us a bit of good karma. Helping another individual also helps release dopamine, a chemical that helps us feel good about yourself. And sometimes we just need a bit of boost to give us the confidence to go back and face the situation at hand.

Ask For Advice From A Colleague

Talking to someone can certainly help. But you don't want to come off as venting or complaining about your life. It's better to consider carefully who you're going to reach out to and frame the conversation as getting advice on a situation, rather than needing to vent. Because when you're venting or releasing steam, the other party is less likely to add value to the conversation, since you're not looking for anything other than someone to vent to. When reframed as getting advice, you're giving someone the permission and space to review your situation, ask productive questions, pick at the problem, and hopefully help you see the problem from a new perspective that you didn't see before.