Stress is pretty much guaranteed during the firefighter promotion process, but it can be managed. Use the following stress management tools to help you thrive while working on your firefighter promotional exam prep and entire promotion process.
Stress Explained
What even is stress? “Stress is a physiological and psychological response to situations the body finds overwhelming.” Some stress is good and can even be a motivator to keep going. Stress can help keep you safe in dangerous situations. However, too much stress can be damaging to your overall health. Studying for your firefighter promotional exam is likely going to increase the stress in your life, so be sure to be mindful of when you are feeling stressed and try to stop it in its tracks.
Focus on Your Interests
Studying for your firefighter promotional exam should be a priority, but it should not be all consuming. Make sure you are still making the time to do the things you love, whatever that may be. Continue to incorporate time for your hobbies so you have time to relax and unwind. Making time to do things you enjoy will help reduce the stress that comes from studying for your firefighter promotional exam and reduce the chances of burnout.
Spend Time With People You Enjoy
Another great stress reducer is to spend time with people. Studying for your firefighter promotional exam can be very isolating as it is mostly a solo project. Sure you can have study groups, but ultimately it is an individual task. When you have down time make sure you have some human interaction. Locking yourself away for the majority of your promotion process is not going to be beneficial because it will have a negative impact on your mental health. Spending time with people you like can be a huge mood booster and stress reducer.
Make Diet, Exercise and Sleep a Priority
Diet, exercise, and sleep are keys to reducing stress and passing your firefighter promotional exam. Not only that, diet, exercise, and sleep are key to a healthy life. It is critical if you want to pass your promotional exam and not have a negative impact on your mental health that you eat well, exercise often, and get good sleep. It can be difficult to do all three of these things when you have less time in your day to prioritize them with the time you are spending studying, but if you get a good routine in place you can do all three. When you do, you will notice a difference in your focus and energy, try and see what happens.
Practice Relaxation Techniques
If you are feeling extremely stressed out, and having a hard time focusing or functioning, try practicing some relaxation techniques. These will help calm your body down so you can move on with your study session or take a break for the sake of your mental health. Here are some you can do:
Deep Breathing
Meditation
Yoga
Aromatherapy
Go Outside
Take a Break
Say No
The key to keeping your stress low throughout this entire firefighter promotion process is saying no. Say no to things that aren’t aligned with your goals. Say no to spending time with people that drain you. Say no to doing things you normally say yes to just out of guilt. If you are a person who is constantly saying yes to people just because you feel like you have to, now is the time to stop saying yes and start prioritizing spending time going after your goals. Studying for your firefighter promotional exam is the best reason to say no to those things you don’t really want to do.
The Takeaway
Studying for your firefighter promotional exam can add an unexpected layer of stress to your life. To keep that stress at bay you need to prioritize your mental health however you see best. Don’t let this become a time of stress and burnout. Study for your firefighter promotional exam but also practice stress management techniques to avoid burnout and failure.