Stress in the workplace is one of the top topics when it
comes to stress-management because oddly enough most stress
occurs in the workplace environment. To understand that we
first have to understand ...
-The Primal Roots Of Stress
The animal in us humans has a basic paranoia build in. Have
you ever tried to pet an unknown cat and it ran away? It's
basic self-protecting paranoia. And as evolved we humans
want to see ourselves, we still run on the same basic
"operating system".
Stress is the basic fight or flight reaction that gets
triggered when we see ourselves in danger.
This is key!
-Different Kinds Of Stress
You have surely heard of the concept of different kinds of
stress before. We generally differentiate between:
constructive stress (eustress) and destructive stress
(distress). Constructive stress is very healthy in the
workplace since it gives you a drive towards success, keeps
you excited, and can lead to a creative state of flow.
The primal reaction reaction to danger is what is referred
to as distress. The human biology doesn't care anymore
about getting any kind of work done, it just wants to fight
or flight.
That's when you keep thinking about what a prick your
co-worker/boss is and can't concentrate on your work
anymore.
-Out Of The Stress-Consciousness
I honestly don't want to give you the same advice that you
get everywhere else concerning stress-management: Take a
vacation, spend time with your family, work out, volunteer
for charity work, get together with your friend and eat
healthy.
Poof, all your problems will be gone. Next client please.
(...as if ...)
Sure, that advice has its place and you will feel much
better after a good workout, for example. But let's not kid
ourselves, the next day it will be the same old story and
the same stress appears again.
Fact is: You will never get out of being stressed by other
people or circumstances in your workplace as long as you
percieve them as being a danger.
Even if this is unconscious.
The perception of danger is the turning point of eustress
(productivity) crossing over into distress.
-Making The Unconscious Conscious
Now is the time for some good self-honesty.
1. Remember the last time you got into some seriously
uncomfortable stress in the workplace
2. Do what you would do naturally and review the major
troubles you have in that situation
3. Now let's shift your focus from the situation or person
(well, where did I know from that it was outside of
yourself ...) to yourself. Which of your beliefs play into
this trouble?
4. What are you afraid of? If you don't know, just guess.
What could you maybe afraid of? Make a list of
possibilities without judging. It's not necessary. When the
situation occurs next time you will be able to point more
and more in the direction of which of your guesses was the
most accurate.
5. Really picture in your mind what the worst possible
outcome of the situation may be.
6. What would you do given the circumstance that the worst
case scenario really happened? Could you deal with that in
any way?
7. What is the most probable outcome of the situation?
Our goal is to get more and more of our common sense into
our animalistic fear-reactions. For example, when the
stress arises from meeting a deadline or you will loose
your job, this can be a very scary situation to be in.
The only way to get out of being paralyzed by the stress
ahead is in fact to get less outcome-dependent. This seems
to be one of the big ironies of life, since independence
from the outcome usually produces better outcomes.
Don't just skim the above steps and go "Yeah, yeah. Done
that". Take your time and really do this analysis. It will
get you further in the long run than any
vacation-workout-volunteering-quickfix.
To combine productivity and relaxation, simply avoid
destructive stress in the workplace -- which might prove to
be a much harder task than it sounds. Eustress is the flow
you are looking for to happily be productive at work.
Sincerely,
Konstantin Koss
----------------------------------------------------
Konstantin Koss is an expert in his field when it comes to
relaxation and wellness. He was certified as a "Wellness
Guide" and is trained in massage therapy
He created a comprehensive internet ressource on wellness,
stress management and relaxation techniques at:
http://realrelaxation.net
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