The first, and most important, way is to screen your job very carefully. The same applies to your significant other, and any other person you will spend time wi

The first, and most important, way is to screen your job very carefully. The same applies to your significant other, and any other person you will spend time with, or organization that you will be active in. This is surprisingly easy to learn how to do: Career wise, just keep an eye out for message threads where people relate horror stories. Dating-wise, don't commit your life to someone too early in a relationship; make sure to date enough people so you know who you get along with, and who you don't. The second way to manage stress is to learn from your mistakes. We all take jobs, assignments, dates, volunteer opportunities, ect, that we regret. There are others that we don't regret, but "won't do that again." Case in point, in high school I did a club that had a few weeks of highly intense work. I really enjoyed it, and then in college, I joined a club sport that had a similar pattern. I quit after one year. At that point I figured out that leaders who thrive on intense work are just stress magnets, so I've avoided them throughout my career. I once finished an interview with two business leaders, smelt that the job was a grind, and then promptly told the recruiter "hell no." (But, if I hadn't had the high intensity experiences in high school and college, I wouldn't recognized the smell and might have accepted the job.) Third, set boundaries in your head, and only cross them on your terms. I work "honest" hours, but I only do weekend/overtime when I get significant personal enjoyment from the work. I also will guilt-free leave early every once in awhile when there's something more interesting going on. The same attitude is needed with volunteer opportunities, clubs, ect. Finally: Walk away as soon as can from a bad situation. This is easier when you're single, and harder when you have a family or similar obligations. This is why it's important to screen your job (and spouse, ect) well, and why it's important to learn from your mistakes.