I was at Target today and witnessed every parent’s worst nightmare. If you are a parent you’ve probably been through this situation yourself. You know the one where you have a cart full of things and your child pitches the most significant fit of their lives. YIKES! You quickly realize that you need to figure out how to remain calm under pressure. After all, inevitably 1,000 people in the store are watching.
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How you react to a situation like this tells those around you a lot of things. The same can be said for most stressful situations. Most people really struggle to stay calm when there are extra levels of stress being doled out. The biggest give you can give yourself is the skills to remain calm so you can handle unexpected situations.
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5 Tips – How to Remain Calm Under Pressure
Here are my 5 favorite tips that will help you through any difficult situation where calmness is required.
- Think Positively
- Understand your Limits
- Remove Emotions
- Take Accountability
- Make a Difference through Action or Providing a Solution
Think Positively
When you are trying to figure out how to remain calm under pressure, the last thing you are thinking about is being positive. Most of us immediately assume the world is burning down around us, and there is nothing good to come out of the situation.
When we are around others our tolerance of failure in situations can actually create the opposite effect than what you want. If everyone is so scared to try new things or to fail at something you will never move forward. Sometimes that first step is the hardest, so recognize when you are stuck in a negative spiral and change the conversation.
Understand your Limits
Understanding limits and boundaries are essential for a lot of reasons, but most importantly, so you know when you are going to overload your personal circuit. The goal is to never get to that point. Once you are wholly overwhelmed by a situation, it’s tough to see the positive in it and identify a solution. This can lead to shutting down or ignoring the situation.
We have all seen this play out. I’ve seen this several times at the store where a child is in a full tantrum, and the parent just continues on their way through the store like nothing is happening. This happens in the office too where someone is told to do something they don’t agree with. Instead of voicing their opinions, they look straight ahead and don’t agree or disagree and likely stop engaging in the situation.
None of these situations are good, so know your limits so you can remain calm and avoid the overwhelm.
Remove Emotions
When you are trying to figure out how to remain calm under pressure, you have to remove the emotional reactions. If you are so invested in something, you can’t be gentle about it. Take some time to really think about the logic behind it. Back up your decision with facts and data and not emotional reactions.
Take Accountability
Accountability is so crucial to success in almost every situation. If you aren’t accountable or holding people accountable for what you need, then they aren’t invested in doing it. Take accountability for your decisions and hold others responsible for theirs and their behavior.
If you told your child they couldn’t have a toy at the store and they are now at the store throwing a tantrum about it, you could give in. But all that does is reinforce they can misbehave and get when they want. The same thing applies to work. If you make a decision and then change your mind without facts and data to back it up you will lose the trust of those around you.
Make a Difference through Action or Providing a Solution
The fastest way to resolution when it appears the world is falling apart is to make a
You can’t, you must act. So kudos to the parent I saw tonight who removed their child from the store when they were told they couldn’t get something and decided to act crazy at the check out line. Thank you to the employee at work today who saw a situation that wasn’t working and provided a solution to their supervisor.
Staying Calm Conclusion
Hopefully, these 5 tips will help you the next time you encounter a frazzle dazzle situation. If you want more tips like this please come visit me on my business page.
