Q: Have you ever met someone you considered confident and relaxed and wondered how they managed to be so composed? The real secret to beating stress and taking control of your mind is to accept that no one is born immune to stress. We all experience it. We all have the choice of how to handle it. Those who appear unfazed by tense situations start by simply “acting” unfazed until it ultimately becomes a reality.  
The simplest way to manage a long-term, positive mental change like this is summed up by a great phrase: “Fake it until you make it!” We already know that the mind has a powerful control over the body. You can use this principle of acting calm to become calm to establish long-term benefits for your mind and body by emulating the mannerisms of confident and relaxed people.  
The more often you “fake it” (act in the way you would like to feel), the more often the brain begins to change and accept this change as agreeable. The more times your brain accepts this change, the more permanent the effects become. Eventually, they will take a fixed place in your personality. 
For example, every time you feel stressed, take a moment to breathe deeply and imagine yourself being calm and confident. Begin doing this once or twice a day, but continue until you reach four, five, or six times a day. One day you will wake up and realize that you now ARE calm most of the time and with that has come the natural confidence.
It has even been shown that mentally imagining someone fictional, with a confident demeanor, and trying to emulate that person can have similar benefits. If a situation starts to create stress and discomfort, imagine what your confident fictional hero might do. 
- How would James Bond react?
- What would that confident President or Politician do?
- How would that popular movie star respond?  
It may sound odd, but these mental exercises have been shown to stimulate confidence. From confidence comes relaxation and positive action.
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