Sydney Crosby said it best:

I don’t control the bumps and the bruises, the crowd, or who covers me. I don’t control the bounces, the shootout order, for that matter, what happens outside the rink. There are a lot of things in life I don’t control. But then again, there are some things that I do.

Truth is, you don’t either. There’s a lot more things you don’t control than things you do. The only thing you can safely rely on is yourself.

You stress if you focus on things out of your control. You stress when you lose your sense of control.

Since there will always be things out of your control, your best bet to reduce stress is to:

  • Identify where and when you are losing (or giving away) control.
  • Minimize risk in these areas by working with the right people.
  • Realize that these are the only areas you should be worrying about and that you’re doing your best to control them.

Easy to say, hard to master. After all, knowing is only half the battle. I’m sure even Sydney Crosby isn’t always cool under pressure.