Last week’s ‘food for thought’ (about stress), got such a strong response that I’ve decided to stick with the theme for a few weeks. Firstly, it is important to re-emphasise that stress is simply our inability to adapt to or manage our environment. Therefore, it is critical to keep learning, keep adapting and to become more resilient. Secondly, just because we have realised that stress can be our friend and changed our attitude towards it, it does not mean that we must pile stress on. What it means is that when you are experiencing a common stress response, you can choose to perceive it as a good thing or a bad thing and in that choice, lays your power and your health. But, it is still wise to take Key Steps as much as possible to…
Minimise common stressors
1. Set yourself the goal of managing your emotions and choose happiness every day. I am not suggesting that you suppress your worries and fears but I am suggesting that you manage them differently. There are many ways to achieve this goal and many proven psychological effects that can help – or harm – your stress, productivity and happiness levels (I’ll keep sharing more throughout this year). Today, I want you to realise that it can be as simple as choosing to see the positive in your life, in others and in yourself. You could achieve this by keeping a gratitude list; just write down three new things you are grateful for every day (do it now!) and you will teach your brain to scan the world looking for the positive instead of the negative. Another valuable strategy is to…
2. BEWARE of ‘Confirmation bias’, i.e. what you see is what you get. It’s been proven that we notice and remember things that confirm our beliefs and discard those that don’t. Keeping this in mind, imagine what happens when you argue with a difficult co-worker, negotiate with a tough customer or complain about an unfair manager. Exactly!…. If you already see them as “difficult”, “tough” or “unfair”, you’ll continue to do so, even in the face of contrary evidence. This contrary evidence could be the key to shift the relationship or reach a win-win outcome in a negotiation. Basically, it could be the key to reducing your stress and managing your emotions and those of others… this contrary evidence could help you to…
