The old routine: When the physical signs of stress kick in (pounding heart, shaky hands, queasy feeling in your gut), you start to believe that you're headed for certain disaster.
The new habit: Tell yourself that those reactions are just your body gearing up for an off-the-charts job with whatever's on your plate.
Why you'll be happier: When volunteers who were about to deliver a speech were told that their stress was really just a sign that oxygen was pumping to their brain to help them thrive under pressure, they reported feeling better and performed better than volunteers who tried to ignore or minimize their stress, found a study from the
University of Rochester. Work done by happiness researcher and author
Shawn Achor also found that people trained to think of their stress response as a good thing reported fewer psychological issues.
