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Stress Management and Your Life


With ever increasing influences surrounding us today in our efforts to succeed in our Professional lives, a lot of us are succumbing to the adverse effects of extraordinary job Stress. There is no denying this fact. Yes, we might be making a lot of money or we might be without a job. But all this is coming at a price. Yes, we are all fairly attuned to the need to bring balance to our lives and we are nurturing our spiritual lives. All well and good! But there is no denying that we are still surrounded with influences that require us to do more. Make even more money. We are bothered by the "he made it, and why not I" phenomena. And now-a-days those of us who are still employed are confronted by a tremendous pressures to just maintain our jobs in the light ever increasing challenges of just staying employed.
I hear a lot of comments like:
"I do not even get or have time to go to a doctor, in spite of the fact I am very sick".
" I have to carry-on in this horrible work culture because I do not want to loose all the money this organization owes me."
" I have very high cholesterol, my doctor says I need to take it easy and live a healthy life."
"I do not even have enough time to see my children."
You get the picture, right?
Just because one or two of our colleagues have made it big, a lot of us feel a need to emulate their success, There is nothing wrong with that except here there is a given - a lot of work stress! No denying that, no one can claim to have achieved Professional Success without many a sleepless night and endless cups of coffee. So how is one to cope? In my consulting and career advising practice I observe a clear trend. A lot of people come and ask me to help them to balance their lives. Specifically how do they find jobs that fit their desired life-styles, which involves spirituality, healthy living, healthy eating, a reduction of travel, and the time to exercise. The point here is that no matter what we do these days we are going to be exposed to a high level of professional stress, so the main solution is to learn and practice coping mechanisms.
Here are some suggestions from stress experts:
Build rewarding pleasant relationships with as many colleagues as you can.
Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Build an effective and supportive relationship with your Boss. If your boss is terrible get rid off him/her.
Understand the boss' problems and help him or her understand yours. Unless of course your boss is a total looser this will not work.
Negotiate with your boss for realistic deadlines on important projects. Be prepared to propose deadlines yourself, instead of having them imposed on you.
Study the future. Learn as much as you can about likely coming events and get as much lead-time as you can to prepare for them.
Find time everyday for detachment and relaxation.
Take a walk around the office now and then, to keep your body refreshed and alert.
Make a noise survey of your office and find ways to reduce the noise.
Get away from your office from time to time for a change of scene and a change of mind.
Reduce the amount of trivia to which you devote your attention.
Limit interruptions. Try to schedule certain periods of "do not interrupt" each day and conserve these periods for your own purpose.
Do not put off dealing with distasteful problems.
Make a constructive worry list. Write down the problems that concern you and beside each write down what you are going to do about them, so that none of these problems will be hovering around the edges of your consciousness.
This list is from Dr. Karl Albrecht.
Other suggestions I have found that work for me:
Listen to classical music as you drive.
Walk a lot.
Find an Extravagant Friend - an extravagant friend is one who does not need anything from you and from whom you do not need anything in return. Spend time with this person spontaneously. Avoid so called friends who only seek your friendship and attention when they need something from you. Oh, have I lost on this score? Trusting people as friends can cost you a lot in stress. We all constantly come across "fair weather" friends, who change their allegiances at the wink of an eye.
Engage in a lot of humor and laugh a lot. Do not take yourself seriously. Sometimes I have found the workplace is a very tense place without any humor.
Understand the "Boss Index" factor that exists for you in your job. If it is higher than 7 then you will have to take drastic corrective measures. Your immediate boss, in my opinion, can be the single most important factor in the level of your Job Stress. For the "Boss Index" test please visit my website - www.biswasandassociates.com and go the Resources page.
But, above all, do not equate professional success with only the money meter. Even if you have not made a million, who cares, as long as you have lived comfortably and have done a job well, with success and in which you are yourself are satisfied with the results intrinsically, not just extrinsically. Look for and engage in things in life are truly important and which have lasting value - which Dr. Steve Covey so aptly describes as the second habit of highly effective people.
There are many a professional I have come across in my almost forty years of working who have not made that proverbial million but still have accomplished a lot with a great deal of satisfaction.
Jai Ho!


This post first appeared on Our Work Ethos, please read the originial post: here

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Stress Management and Your Life

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