Everyone feels stressed now and then. For some it is simple to manage, but for others it can be quite difficult. When struggling to cope with stress, I’ve found that a more effective way is to reappraise the situation. There are always things that you dislike and cannot change, but you can always change the way you look at them. Taking a challenging situation and finding something good about it, will make it a much simpler thing to deal with. Between personal experience and caring guidance I have learned the benefits of looking on the bright side of things. Stress was always much more familiar than I would have liked it to be. As a child I was never educated on neither recognizing nor dealing with stress, so when it frequently overwhelmed me, I became miserable. My guess is that I probably mastered pessimism by the time I was 3 years old. Naturally I don’t know when it truly began, but I do know that I can only ever remember being negative. Being unable to deal with ever-increasing stressors made me a very cynical person for a very long time. Finally, when I was 25, a new co-worker introduced me to the power of positivity. Not that no one else had ever tried to, but she was different in her persistence, intelligence, and caring. When I would complain about something, she would always point out something positive about it. For a long time I basically ignored her attempts to help me. One day it all made sense. I remember finally realizing that there are things you can’t change and will have to deal with. However if you step back and reconsider the stressor there’s a chance you might benefit from it. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I can also say that I don’t always know the reason and many times I never will. But I really feel that there is a point to everything and sometimes you just have to look. It’s necessary to be able to cope with stress because the longer you fail at coping the worse it gets. You don’t want to mask great characteristics because you’re weakened from depression and drowning in darkness. Helen Keller said to “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” Finding meaning in something that normally gives you anxiety can be empowering. There is nothing like having light in your life. If you can turn irritation in to opportunity it will create a much more productive outlook. Then it becomes easier to help manage or decrease your stress level. When my stress level was no longer through the roof I was able to start reappraising different situations and finding something constructive in them. It created a positivity that I really enjoyed and enable me to be happier. I was finally seeing myself change to be the person I want to be. The sooner you start the better. It’s been a few years and I still often struggle to manage my stress. I’ve certainly come a long way from where I began, but I’m also much further than where I’d like to be. I still become overwhelmed and throw a fit because I don’t know where to start or what to deal with first. After I calm down I then go about solving my problems. Naturally my goal is to always remain level-headed and productive when I encounter stress. Another great bonus is when you can pass the good attitude on. Just recently I was actually able to offer very positive insight a few times to my friends. After they told me about their troubles I optimistically provided them with possible explanations for their challenges. Normally we probably would have complained about the situations for at least 30 minutes at piece and cried about the injustices of life. Instead we discussed something encouraging and felt better because of it. Coping with stress can be difficult but it does not have to be a debilitating feat. When presented with a tough situation try to pause your life so you can assess everything and try to establish a purpose for it. So maybe your car wouldn’t start in the morning, thankfully you only live a mile from work and can walk there and get that exercise you wanted but couldn’t find time for. It’s much easier to deal with a problem if you can turn it in to an opportunity.