David Munz, a stress researcher at St. Louis University who leads a program in stress management at Monsanto Co., recommends the following methods for coping with job pressures:

  • Exercise regularly. Even a 10-minute bout of brisk walking will improve your frame of mind.
  • Use positive, not negative, language to refer to your projects. After a while, the positive attitude will begin to be second nature.
  • Take frequent mental breaks or, to use a psychological term, hypnogogic naps. Close your eyes and relax for five minutes without actually going to sleep. It's a wonderful way to cleanse your left brain, Munz says, adding that Albert Einstein regularly relied on hypnogogic naps as a mental refresher.
  • If you feel yourself becoming emotionally upset, breathe deeply and regularly until you begin to calm down again.
  • Block out negative thoughts and focus your attention on positive things. Munz calls this technique "thought stopping."
  • Rehearse...

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