Pete Alexander2x TEDx Speaker and best-selling author helping transform burned out workers into engaged colleagues.

Stress Relief Tool - New Year Resolutions

6 Jan 2021 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:21

In this short monologue, the speaker reflects on the challenges of 2020, especially the COVID‑19 pandemic, and proposes a set of practical New Year’s resolutions aimed at reducing stress and improving mood in 2021. The core premise is that stress is best managed by controlling one’s own responses rather than trying to control others. Four concrete resolutions are offered: (1) resist the need to be liked, focusing energy on relationships that accept you; (2) don’t take others’ negative actions personally, viewing them as reflections of the other person and choosing forgiveness; (3) practice forgiveness to prevent negative emotions from festering; and (4) minimize contact with negative or toxic people to preserve emotional energy for positive relationships. The speaker frames these steps as a way to make 2021 a year of positivity, mood improvement, and stress reduction.

Chapters

Well, 2020 is officially behind us, and what a year it was. Highlighted— more like lowlighted— by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now time for us to turn the page and look at the possibilities that come with the new year. I've talked about the fact that you can only control yourself when dealing with stress. So how about taking that one step further by committing to one or more of the following resolutions to stay positive in the new year? Resist the need to be liked. It's simply impossible to please everyone. You are not pizza. So rather than spending all that energy on trying to win over people who don't like you for whatever reason, Spend that energy on more positive relationships with people who like you for who you are. Don't make it about you. If someone says or does something that negatively affects you, don't take it personally. The other person's actions are typically a reflection of themselves, not you. Instead of assuming the other person intentionally affected you, and letting that negative emotion fester inside of you, consider forgiving them instead and reduce and/or eliminate the negative emotion you are feeling. Finally, minimize contact with negative or toxic people. Life is too short to spend it around negative people, so why waste your energy? Just like those people who don't like you, spending time with negative people is an energy suck. They are typically seeking reactions, and if they don't get one from you, they will likely move on to another person who will engage with them. And by minimizing contact with negative people, you reserve your energy for more positive people in your life. So make 2021 the year to implement one or more of these resolutions. You will improve your overall mood and reduce your stress in the process.