Anyone who has been to a school reunion knows the pressure to look successful. In business, we often define external yardsticks and measure performance against them. But that same logic is not always appropriate when it comes to measuring the success of your professional life.

As long as you use external standards to evaluate your success, you are guaranteed dissatisfaction—you’ll always find someone who is doing more, making more, or has more. Instead of focusing outward, ask yourself what your standards of success are. Write them down and share them with those closest to you. This ensures you measure what matters to you, not to others.

Stress is unavoidable, but it doesn’t have to be damaging. When managed correctly, strain can positively impact productivity and performance. Here are three things you can do to make stress work for you:

Recognize worry for what it is. Stress is a feeling, not a sign of dysfunction. When you start to worry, realize it’s an indication that you care about something, not a cause for panic.

Focus on what you can control. Too many people feel bad about things they simply can’t change. Remember what you can affect and what you can’t.

Create a supportive network. Knowing you have somebody to turn to can help a lot. Build relationships so that you have people to rely on in times of stress.