Recently I watched a Ted Talk by Daniel Levitin about "how to stay calm when you know you'll be stressed."  As someone who has dealt with severe stress and anxiety throughout my life I am always looking for new input on how to deal with it.  Stress management is essential to be successful in the entertainment business, especially when managing an artist.  In the beginning of the talk Daniel tells a story about having to break into his own house, because he forgot his keys inside. The result of this was Daniel waking up the next morning and forgetting his plane ticket, due to being stressed about the hole in his window.  He explains that when you stress your cortisol levels escalate poisoning your brain resulting in cloudy thinking.  This got him thinking about way to prevent stress before it happened.  Later he says his friend, Daniel Kahneman, gave him a  bit more insight on how to stop stress before it happens. Mr. Kahneman had told him that he had been practicing Prospective Hindsight.  What it all comes down to is organizing and preparing yourself.  He explains how putting everything that is easily lost in a specific area can help reduce the chance of you forgetting it.  Yeah, this sounds like common sense, but he has a point.  If you were to keep up with organizing and planning ahead you can usually eliminate most issues in the long run. There will still be unforseeable obstacles, but you will be better equipped to handle them.  Another point Daniel makes is to ask your doctor about two different percentages when being prescribed medicine; one is the chance of side effects and the other is the NNT (Number Needed to Treat).  Normally people aren't thinking about these two percentages when going to see the doctor, because at that point stress has usually taken over and that person just wants to be cured.  As Mr. Levitin says you should ask your doctor about both of these before taking any medicine, you may be shocked by the percentages.  Sure this may seem to add more stress but in the long run it can save you from even greater stress.  After listening to this talk and reflecting on it a bit I'd like to share a little input.  What Daniel Levitin says is useful knowledge for anyone, although you must follow it to a tee to get the wanted results.  for instance if you begin organizing things you fear you may lose, but you only place those things their designated area a few times then start leaving them where ever else you feel like it than it won't work.  You must be diligent and keep things organized. After awhile it should become second nature, and be imbedded into your mind where these things go and where you can find them.  The end results should reduce your stress level, because you won't be as worried about where things are or what happens next.  For more information on the Ted talk done by Daniel Levitin please visit the link below.

https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_levitin_how_to_stay_calm_when_you_know_you_ll_be_stressed#t-441810