Strategic foresight is the ability to plan ahead by predicting what may or may not happen. It can be a powerful tool to help you understand and evaluate your options even when the future seems very unclear.

As mentioned, here are the 6 ways to practice Strategic Foresight:

Clarify your goals
Think about the possibilities for your future
Identify the implications
Make your assumptions explicit and examine their validity
Review your options, plans, and decisions
Accept uncertainty as the norm

Let's move on to the Step 03 and Step 04 to effectively managing stress.

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STEP 03: Circle of Concern vs Circle of Control

As you heard, Circle of concern is the larger circle that contains all the worries, issues, and problems we have on our mind at all times. Family, health, work, money, future, friends, love etc. Circle of control is the small circle within this large circle of concern. This circle contains all the worries, issues, problems we have in our life that are actually within our realm of control

STEP 04: Contingency Planning

As Jasdeep mentioned, the easiest way to go about this is to prepare yourself for 3 major scenarios:

Worst Case Scenario
Best Case Scenario
Most likely Case Scenario

Let's continue with the next steps and hear from Jasdeep.

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STEP 05: Reframing Your Thoughts

Reframing our thoughts can tremendously reduce stress. It means thinking about things in a neutral or positive way, instead of negatively. We may or may not have control over the events around us, but we have almost total control over how we interpret and perceive them.

STEP 06: Grounding Activities

As Jasdeep mentioned, here’s a list of ways to calm yourself down when you are about to get caught up in your emotions. From your surroundings, count:

5 things you can see
4 things you can touch
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste.

Pick a colour and start to name all the things in your present environment which is that colour. The same can be done with a particular alphabet.

STEP 07: Seeking Guidance and Mentorship

Always ask for help! There's no shame in admitting you're lost and confused, and there's even less shame in asking your professors or mentors for help.

Let us now hear the final three steps and prepare ourselves to be stress-free!

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STEP 08: Learn to decompress

Follow these 2 easy and applicable breathing exercises to relieve stress.

1. Morning Breathing

Try this exercise when you first get up in the morning to relieve muscle stiffness and clear clogged breathing passages. Then use it throughout the day to relieve back tension.

From a standing position, bend forward from the waist with your knees slightly bent, letting your arms dangle close to the floor.
As you inhale slowly and deeply, return to a standing position by rolling up slowly, lifting your head last.
Hold your breath for just a few seconds in this standing position.
Exhale slowly as you return to the original position, bending forward from the waist.
Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.

2. Belly Breathing

Belly breathing is easy to do and very relaxing. Try this basic exercise anytime you need to relax or relieve stress.

Sit or lie flat in a comfortable position.
Put one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other hand on your chest.
Take a deep breath in through your nose, and let your belly push your hand out. Your chest should not move.
Breathe out through pursed lips as if you were whistling. Feel the hand on your belly go in, and use it to push all the air out.
Do this breathing 3 to 10 times. Take your time with each breath.
Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.

STEP 09: Seek Support and Comfort in your Social Support Circle

When in doubt, contact your person - the one who can soothe you, encourage you, and make you feel protected. Support is a great tool that we all have but rarely use.

STEP 10: Show Compassion to yourself by not adding Extra Pressure

Internal pressure is the most significant source of stress for most people. We all have an inner critic with a loud voice that constantly criticises us. As a result, it's critical to practise self-kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Allow yourself to experience emotions and be human. Allow oneself to make errors and express gratitude for the lessons learned as a result of those blunders. Allow yourself to be who you are and to appreciate who you are!

Although stress and anxiety may arise in your workplace and personal life, these steps will definetely help you reduce the pressure you feel.

Hope you've gained meanigful insights and knowledge to stay Stress Free!