Has stress become an unwelcome companion for too much of your time? The demands we face, from hectic work schedules to personal challenges, can take a toll on our mental well-being. However, there’s a powerful antidote to this pervasive stress: mental resilience. By understanding how we interact with the world around us, not forgetting the mental chatter within, we can not only manage but eradicate a significant portion of stress from our lives.

With the guidance of the Happiness Guru, Dr. Srikumar Rao, we will get a glimpse into the fascinating realm of mental resilience and explore how it can be harnessed to build a more peaceful and balanced life.

From cultivating mindfulness to embracing adaptability, your journey toward a stress-free existence begins with a deeper understanding of yourself and your environment.

How can leaders begin to eradicate crippling stress from their life?

The first step is to recognize that their mental chatter is drawing them inexorably into a deep dark place. They are overwhelmed because they think of all the things they have to do and how they don’t have time to do all of them and what could happen if they fail to do them and how can they possibly pay attention to the demands of their work and their family and so on.

A very powerful technique is to pick one task, the most important one, and ruthlessly focus all attention on that task alone. Work on it unhurriedly till it is done. When other thoughts intrude, brush them off.

It takes some practice but eventually you will find this quite easy to do.

Then pick another task, the next more important one, and do the same.

One CEO of a billion dollar company reported that he got far more done, better and with no strain, when he started using this technique.

How can a person change the way the world influences them?

A good first step is to recognize that our awareness is like a flashlight. It illuminates whatever we shine it on. Most of us shine the flashlight of our awareness on the two or three things that we designate as ‘problems’ in our life. And all our attention goes to these ‘problems’ and we feel emotionally drained.

Consciously shine the flashlight of your awareness on the many ways in which you are truly blessed. You have food to eat, a house to live in and a bed to sleep on. You have gainful employment and enjoy luxuries like vacations and many others.

Do this when you go to bed at night and again when you wake up in the morning. Don’t pick up your smartphone when you wake up and go to the space of “There is too much to do and I don’t have time to do it all”.

When you live in the default emotional domain of appreciation and gratitude, you are not anxious, you are not worried, you are not fearful, you are not angry, you are not depressed and you are not stressed. The emotions cannot co-exist.

Your experience of life will become a whole lot better.

What are three tips for bringing joy into one’s life?

Here are three tips to enjoy each day and let joy creep into your life.

1. Remember that events are neither good or bad. They are just events. When you label them ‘bad’ they take you to a dark place and drain you emotionally. Whenever something happens that you are about to label ‘bad’, stop!

Ask yourself if there is any possible way in which this thing could actually turn out to be ‘good’ in a few year’s time. Then ask yourself what you can do to make it a ‘good’ thing.

Doing this enables you to move from the realm of despair to a realm of possibility.

2. Recognize that nothing lasts forever. Good times will be followed by tough times. Joyous meetings will be followed by separation. That is the nature of life. Think about it and make your peace with it. Then you will neither be elated nor depressed by changing circumstances. And a deep serene well-being will pervade you.

3. See what you can do to be of service to a larger community. What can you do to bring some joy and hope and good cheer to others? They can be your family, including your partner and children. They can be work colleagues. They can be customers or even random people on the street.

Small actions go far. Smile genuinely as you catch someone’s eyes. Pay undivided attention to them as they speak. Practice random acts of kindness.

To start on your stress-eradication journey, Dr. Rao has one simple tip for you: “Your life will be enriched if you consistently do the above.”