Sitting among hundreds of customers, the lifeguard chair can be a lonely place. The rigors of the job require you to sit for long periods of time and focus, while also ensuring the safety of the guests you are observing. Not only do you accept a lot of responsibility, but you might also feel the pressure of responsibility. It’s common to tell someone in your situation to “don’t let the pressure get to you,” but when it comes to life and death situations, it’s normal to have some stress. The best thing you can do is learn to deal with your stress. Follow these tips to reduce your stress and be more confident in the lifeguard chair.

• Talk to your supervisor: One of your supervisor’s many tasks is to make sure your employees perform at the highest level possible. Any time you feel unsure about your job, you should tell your supervisor. Not only is it in their interest to help you find a way to deal with your stress, but it is also likely that they have been in the same situation. Many times, it is the outstanding lifeguards who are elevated to the position of supervisor. Supervisors have shown management that they are excellent leaders and have excelled as lifeguards. That’s why your supervisor is the best source of advice on how to deal with the pressure you feel.
• Eat a balanced diet and stay hydrated: While eating a balanced diet and drinking enough water won’t automatically take stress out of your job, it can keep you from becoming more stressed. How is that? Well, a common coping technique to deal with stress is overeating and when your body feels stressed, it usually craves junk food which is not good for your body. While these foods may make you feel better in the short term, they will affect your body over time in the form of weight gain, immune system issues, and blood sugar imbalances. One way to prevent these problems is to practice a balanced diet and stay hydrated.
• Increase your stressor: The human mind is an amazing thing. It allows you to push your body beyond any limit you set for yourself. It can also be your biggest inhibitor. Letting negative thoughts invade your mind will lower your confidence and make you cautious at the lifeguard station. The next time you doubt your abilities, try to magnify that doubt. Expanding your doubt involves exaggerating your fear and proving to yourself that your fear is nonsense.

  Not sure what we mean? Explain your doubts like this: “What if I see a man struggling in the pool and calling for help? So I jump into the water to save him, but my entry is very careless. I catch up with the man and can pull him to safety, but not before from a little struggle to swim with him to safety. When my manager witnesses this, he decides to fire me for my faulty input and struggles to save the man. Eventually my name makes its way to every aquatic facility in the world and I will never be able to get another lifeguard job. Being kicked out of the lifeguard circle, I have no way to pay for college and I’m destined to grow a big gut and live in my parents’ basement forever.” Using this example, you can see that your doubts are probably wrong. Rather than fire him for using a sloppy technique, his supervisor will most likely praise him for saving a life. Use this technique to dispel any doubts or fears about the job.

• Practice: If you are new to lifeguarding, it may take you some time to develop comfort in the lifeguard chair. Comfort develops as you gain more experience and practice your skills. While you won’t be able to time travel to a later date when you’re more experienced, you can control how much you practice the skills you doubt the most. It is additional practice that will help you build the confidence to perform these skills at any time in an emergency situation. Set a goal to practice the skill you doubt the most for an extra 15 minutes each day. As you become more comfortable with that skill, move on to the next skill you are most unsure about.

Dealing with life and death situations among the many distractions makes lifeguarding a very difficult job. Not only do you need to keep yourself in top physical condition, but you also need to train your mind to be in top mental shape. Stress is likely to be a major component of the mental aspect of the job. Whenever you encounter stress, be sure to use these tips to deal with it.