Picture this: You land a so-called elite job at an MNC that pays extremely well. Everything is just great. You get to do what you love to do. It is smooth sailing for a few months until the fears of office politics and bad practices of the workplace kick in. Suddenly, you fear that your colleagues are plotting against you. Your boss and everyone around you appear to be getting you off your position. What an absolute nightmare the job has become. You fear judgments, criticisms, and even feedback. And you start fearing them every time you are at the office or on a Zoom call!
And guess what, people live with this fear every single day.
Fear at the workplace is no good
All the nastiness, the feeling of hostility, and the fear of people going against you only weaken you. It makes you paranoid. Sometimes, all of this can be just in your mind. We all know that our mind plays games. You are now not able to focus on your job, the quality of your work comes down, and what you fear might really happen. You may actually need to leave because of your poor performance. And what was responsible for that? Your fears, are created by your mind.
Here are a few ways to combat your fears.
Join a Free workshop on Yoga, Meditation and Breath
Ask and clarify
One of the most crucial skills is to communicate clearly. This can help immensely at work. Straightforward conversations with your colleagues reduce the chances of miscommunication, saving you from stress and unnecessary hassles. Ask and clarify for your own good. Having proper clarity creates a positive headspace. The ideas that come in are better, and the efficiency increases. Also, clear communication helps get rid of fear. It may be daunting but is definitely worth it. Here’s something that can help you deal with difficult people.
Connect
Another important thing to do is to become good friends with your colleagues. Look forward to working in teams, getting to know each other better. Have friendly conversations with your colleagues and connect on common things. And when that connection is established, many good ideas will emerge during your chats with your office buddies.
Be mindful
You might be communicating clearly, and may have made a couple of work buddies. Yet, you may find yourself where you were: afraid of messing up, of failures, of people being hostile, of office politics, and so on.
Mindfulness is something that can definitely help here. You can become more mindful by practicing yoga and pranayama for a few minutes every day. If you want to know about the benefits of pranayama, check this out.
You may go a step further and give meditation a try. Meditate for a while whenever you feel stressed. Meditation helps to declutter your mind, leading to mental tranquility. A calm and happy mind can make better decisions, deal with challenges better and stay relaxed in stressful situations. There are so many guided meditations out there. You may try any of them. Even better, here’s a meditation especially for stress relief.
Manage your mind with your breath
We pay the least attention to the most important thing that is keeping us alive. Breath. Our breath dictates how we feel and vice-versa. Breathing techniques like pranayama can do wonders. One more amazing breathing technique is Sudarshan Kriya.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, “For every emotion in the mind, there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath. And each rhythm affects certain parts of the body, physically. For instance, we feel a sense of expansion when we are happy and a sense of contraction when miserable. Though we feel happiness or misery and the sensation, we fail to notice the connection. So, when you cannot handle your mind directly, through breath you can handle the mind.”
Sudarshan Kriya incorporates specific natural rhythms of the breath which harmonize the body, mind, and emotions. This unique breathing technique eliminates stress, fatigue, and negative emotions such as anger, frustration, and depression, leaving you calm yet energized, focused yet relaxed.
Sudarshan Kriya can be learned at any of the Art of Living centers. Once you experience this breathing technique, you’ll realize that it is one of the most incredible and calming techniques out there. You can take a free introductory session.
What’s the worst that can happen
When you know what scares you, you can consciously work on dealing with it. If you fear your boss, you should work on standing up and being yourself around him/her. If you fear failing, you should be more cautious of the process.
But hey, what's the worst that can happen if everything goes against you? There were scenarios in the past when you felt like - “this is it, nothing can save me”. But you survived those situations, didn’t you? The worst thing that may happen is you’ll get fired. The scenario will not be as bad as you imagine. You’ll get through and find some other job elsewhere. And if the people at your workplace are that bad, it is good riddance after all.
When you look at the grand scheme of things, small, petty fears stop troubling you. So, overcome your fears; they only hinder your creativity. Follow these techniques. Stop worrying about the consequences. And enjoy working.
