The Master Strategy Revisited

As soon as you are aware that you are under stress, remember to do the following:

To better enable yourself to follow the preceding six Master Strategy steps, practice the following techniques, strategies, and suggestions.

• Breathe from your diaphragm, slowly, deeply, and rhythmically.
  
  
• Practice active relaxation techniques; use progressive relaxation, and stretch your muscles daily if possible.
  
  
• Adopt the witnessing stance to facilitate your awareness.
  
  
• Cultivate the stress hardiness attitudes of control, commitment, and challenge.
  
  
• Approach life as a peaceful warrior.
  
  
• Use reframing strategies to shift your perceptions and/or work through anger.
  
  
• Identify, challenge, and replace irrational beliefs.
  
  
• Give yourself permission to be an optimist.
  
  
• Practice giving up the need to always be right. Learn to step into the shoes of the other person to assist you in this process.
  
  
• Learn to forgive, especially yourself.
  
  
• Eat a balanced diet.
  
  
• Get plenty of regular exercise.
  
  
• Experiment with high-tech relaxation tools.
  
  
• Assert yourself. Use the four-step framework to guide you in this process.
  
  
• Identify your unrealistic expectations about your workplace and challenge them. Learn to embrace change and make it your friend.
  
  
• Follow the six steps to thwart procrastination.
  
  
• Schedule your priorities rather than prioritize your schedule. Managing your time will then be a far easier process.
  
  
• When what you are doing isn't working, don't just try harder; do something different.
  
  
• Love yourself. Have fun, play, and laugh at yourself and the world around you.