I realized years ago things, situations, people don't make me stressed. My perceptions of things do. So I set out to work on changing my perceptions.
I was labeled as the most laid-back, never angry, always laughing employee in a company of over 350.
I was also known as the most honest, since I didn't see anything I cared enough about to lie about it.
I learned the phrase "Apathy is a wonderful thing." My own phrase, and it works for a lot of things, because most things that stress you don't matter past today. At worst, what will they matter in ten months -- or ten years? A blink of an eye in the matter of a lifetime.
So I learned to let it go, not let it build up, and to ask the bosses when they set a deadline, "Who, really, is gonna die if it's not done by then?"
Stress is relative to your perception of events. Change your perceptions, and you can change your stress levels.
