In order to get work done and perform well, we need to be able to fully concentrate. Anxiety and stress diminish our ability to focus — and in high-pressure environments or during periods of change, it can be difficult to get these under control.

The definition of resilience is being able to recover quickly from stress arousal. And so to be resilient, and to increase your resilience, you need to find a way to let go of the stress, get into a calm state and a focused state.

Here’s a simple method for staying calm under stress: every morning before you go to work, carve out time to simply focus on your breath — perhaps a 10- or 20-minute session. Whenever your mind starts to wander, just let that go and refocus on your breath. This sharpens attention and calms the mind.

The key is to practice routinely so it gets easier to achieve a state of calm and concentration. This way, you’d get to work in the best state to get work done, which is full concentration, calm, and relaxed.

Summing-up: While stress, frustration, and other daily setbacks will always be there, the good news is, so will our breath.