By Natalie Glaneman, Dale Carnegie Training

Many professionals (like me) have dual roles — in their organizations or in their personal lives; and wearing multiple hats could become stressful.

But wearing multiple hats at once doesn’t mean you need to be overcome by stress. Here are several of the most common, useful ways to not let anxiety conquer you.

These three techniques are based on Dale Carnegie’s tried and true principles for conquering stress and worry; and I have used a simple example that is broadly applicable to almost anybody who has worked in a large organization — in any role. The lessons from this example can be applied to situations most people face, whether you’re a leader or a doer.

Technique 1: Try to Improve on the Worst

As humans we all make mistakes, in and out of the workplace.

I know that when I make a mistake, I dwell on it for a long time. Take the time, when I was in retail, doing inventory at a retail clothing store. I was clocking out for my break, and pressed ‘clear all tabs’ instead of ‘clear current tab’.

At the time, I felt like I had just committed a heinous crime and my manager was mad. It had global impact instead of just impacting the item on which I was working. (We’ve all faced situations in which we do something incorrectly that causes another person to be angry.)

After she called someone to fix it, I still couldn’t let it go and that is all I could think about for a few weeks. Once I couldn’t handle thinking about it anymore, I told myself that I would never make that mistake again.

Another common example: In sales, if the customer says no, even in the worst case where you can’t get him back to yes, there’s another customer waiting to buy from you.

In situations where something doesn’t go the way you plan, consider what could be the worst outcome – and recognize that it’s usually not life threatening.

Technique 2: Remind Yourself of the Exorbitant Price You Can Pay for worry in Terms of Your Health

Don’t let your thoughts be monopolized by a mistake you made; even if your stomach feels the consequences.

In the days following my faux pas in the previous example, I would remember how I almost erased an entire day of work I had barely contributed to, and my stomach would start to hurt. I would sit there looking at a big plate of pasta and think ‘my stomach hurts to bad, I can’t eat that;’ and so I wouldn’t.

Not being able to enjoy the foods you love because you are nauseous due to worry is no way to live. Instead, reflect on another aspect of your life that isn’t stressful.

Technique 3: Don’t Worry About the Past

When I worry about things I had not done optimally, I have many sleepless nights. I lay awake thinking to myself ‘why did I do that?

I knew not to push the button that would affect every item in the store; so why did I do it?’ This thought became so top of mind that it affected almost everything I did. My family couldn’t figure out why and I didn’t want to talk about it.

Like all the other times, I saw the patterns had unfolded and I needed to stop them from progressing. So, one night while I was mulling, I thought ‘I can’t change the past so why am I thinking about it?’

That’s all it took. I fell asleep instantly and occasionally I think about it to this day but the effects of it are not nearly as bad.

Once you have won the war against your current stress, you’re able to prepare for the next battle. 

After the battle has been won

Now that you have fought valiantly against stress and worry what do you do next?

You marvel in your victory!

When you do, you’ll look at your productivity increase by seeing higher numbers, more calls made, sales go up or however you track productivity. You’re able to ship more units out the door. You’ll get more things done every day — no matter what you do for a living.

You see that you can go about your day happier and more confident knowing that you can handle anything that your job can throw at you. And you find the next part of your life you are going to improve because you just took one step closer to being the person you’ve always wanted.

So next time you are faced with a stressful day as work, remember that there will be multiple battles but find comfort knowing you are backed by stress and worry techniques. 

Natalie Glaneman is Marketing Lead for Dale Carnegie Training. She now lives by these principles to make her life easier and her days more productive. Her organization empowers individuals in all walks of life to take command of their work and change their lives.