Pressure is a very real and constant state of being that all of us experience most of the time. It is in alignment with this hustled and hurried world that we live in. From the moment we wake up, to the time we go to bed, pressure is ever present because most of us cannot seem to shut down our thinking. We constantly review our day, week, month and year. Since we are programmed to deal with deadlines, we need to learn to make room for pressure and use it as positive motivation in all that we do to achieve our goals.

Here are 4 useful tactics to help you re-channel this energy to change our relationship with pressure.

• FOCUS ON “GOOD PRESSURE”
  Good pressure can make you thrive as opposed to fail. It can motivate and stimulate you to do more, achieve more, finish more. And be on time more. All you need to do is map out all that needs your attention and methodically go about executing one by one. Use schedules, agendas, worksheets to help you stay the course and win.
• REACT DON’T OVERREACT
  Try “reacting” to pressure rather than letting it get the better of you. Rather than focusing on the pressure you’re under because of a task, focus on the task at hand. Taking action often dissipates the anxiety pressure brings on. Turn pressure into action rather than simply a state of negative being.
• ENJOY THE CHALLENGE
  Try to jump in and enjoy the feeling of a challenge rather than the despair. Despair is masked panic which is temporary. Use the pressure of a deadline towards awakening your creativity and giving you laser focus. Since you have little time, it forces you to meet the challenge and perform. There’s no time to wallow in doubt.
• SHARE THE PRESSURE
  Remember you aren’t the only one feeling the pressure. Be sensitive to the nuances of your team being under pressure, proactively listen to their concerns and check in regularly in order to manage whatever amount of pressure they are under. If the collective levels of pressure are handled, the team thrives more, and ultimately you will too. If you show your team you care the pressure they are under, they will give you a different gear with productivity and performance, and magically, pressure gets managed.