Stabilize Stress

STABILIZE STRESS

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Stress is a killer.

There are some who would say, “there’s good stress and then there’s bad stress”. That’s sort of like saying, “there are good heart attacks and then there are bad heart attacks”.

Maybe there is some positive benefit to the stresses that will enhance our performance, but, for the most part, stress is a negative, keeping us from performing at peak levels, damaging our daily productivity, and decreasing the chances of our longevity.

Many blame stress on external forces. “We are living in stressful times.” “This is a stressful job.” “My boss (husband, wife, co-worker, customer, client, kid, etc.) is really stressing me out.”

The world is not really a stressful place and these are not really stressful times. There really are no stressful jobs. If any of these were true, then everyone in that community, job, relationship, etc. would be stressed. Some are. Maybe most are. But some are not.

There are many “stress reduction” programs, seminars, and courses out there. Most are effective. But, rather than treat the symptoms, what if we treated the disease and rid ourselves of the causes of the stress?

Most stress is internal, caused by the ways in which we relate to the world and events and people around ourselves. Stress is caused when there is a disconnect between our expectation and our reality. When reality falls short of an expectation, it creates a disappointment and that causes stress.

For example, let us say you drove your car to work today, your car was parked in the nearby parking lot, and you will leave work today at 5:00 p.m. You probably have an expectation that your car will be right where you left it when you got to the parking lot this afternoon. Well, what if you were to discover at 5:00 p.m. that your car has been stolen? I would imagine most of us would feel some stress from finding out about our stolen car!

But, what if you return to the parking lot this afternoon and there is your car exactly where you left it this morning? You insert the key and drive away. Do you experience stress over finding your car where you left it? No, because expectation and reality match up.

While most of us will experience those larger disappointments in life, they are typically few and far between so that our bodies have a chance to cope and recover. Rather, it is all the little disappointments, which seem inconsequential individually, but when added together throughout a day, will really build up the stress. (Dealing with the morning rush hour, not getting things done on time, tasks piling up, personal errands not attended to, etc.)

The solution? Bring your reality up to your expectations. Through effective daily planning make sure that you plan to do the little things you expect should be done in addition to all the things you “have to” do during the day.

We will never eliminate stress completely but, with more effective planning, we can stabilize stress.

Another useful article for you and to share with your friends is “Top 5 Time Management Mistakes”. To get your copy now, email your request for “mistakes” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com

Don Wetmore is a full-time Professional Speaker who specializes exclusively in the topics of Time Management and Personal Productivity. He conducts his nationally acclaimed Time Management Seminars throughout the world for people who want more out of life, in less time, with less stress, with more time and balance for their personal lives. His in-house seminars are always entertaining, fast-paced, and filled with practical, common sense ideas and tools. One of the country’s leading experts on the topic, he is the author of “Beat the Clock”. You may contact him directly at:

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com