A few weeks ago I learned about what the healthcare community refers to as The Big Four. These are the four behavioral concerns that drive cause and thus Cost in the healthcare system. Maybe now we can restart the conversation!?
If you’re like many people, you expect a lot – of self and others – on the job. How much of the stress you experience comes from trying to juggle too many roles, goals, and projects simultaneously? While you may have a dozen or more items on your project list, remember that the maximum most … Read more
We Create Our Own Stress Do you ever find yourself thinking: “I have too much to do — I feel overwhelmed!?” How we are is a result of choices we make and the way we surround ourselves with stuff and challenges. Sometimes our choices can leave us busy and full — yet unhappy. That’s when … Read more
A shorter version of a post from earlier this week – 156 words of advise for managing job search stress: 1. Practice gratitude. Every day, write down three good things that happen around you. Focus on what you DO have to feel blessed even when stressed. 2. Tally your Friendships. List all your important relationships: … Read more
While I ran an outplacement center earlier in my career, I know much about search tactics. But these days my passion is to help folks in this situation by emphasizing the importance of self-care during the search. As the corporate saying goes, “hire for attitude, train for skills.” What that means for the job searcher … Read more
This is a busy season for Performance Appraisal (PA) discussions, and this topic’s come up with several clients recently. Anxiety seems to be the most common emotion associated with PAs, both on the part of the receiver and the writer/manager. A little anxiety running up to the conversation can be helpful — it will keep … Read more
In early December, the American Psychological Association reported that 80% of Americans feel stressed by the economy, 60% feel angry about it, and 52% are having trouble sleeping (see CNN article, here). Yikes! Sleep-deprived, angry, stressed out… these are not descriptors normally associated with happiness, are they?! The sad thing about this reality is how … Read more
There’s been very little happiness in the financial world. In order to keep from slipping into the black hole of depression about our financial situation, I’ve withdrawn a bit. Do I really need to know what is happening in the market on an hour to hour basis? No. Day to day? Hmm. One day it’s … Read more
I got up this morning feeling very unsettled. My week has been busy. I was a bit short on sleep and when my alarm went off all I could feel was bone-tiredness. So I turned off my alarm and skipped my workout (this is a big deal for me — I live in the assessment that I MUST exercise six days a week…).
Even with the catchup sleep, however, I still felt ‘on edge’ once I got up and functioning. I went in to my office to start work, and could not focus or sit still. I kept wandering around inside and outside the house, and eventually found myself out on my deck.
It took a while for me to realize that I’d been standing there — just standing in place — for a couple of minutes, just listening to the wind chimes.
That’s when I noticed that, for the first time in several hours, I felt calm. So, I sat down in a spot of sun on my deck and let go of needing to do anything else.
I sat there for… Oh, I don’t know; maybe ten minutes?
For ten minutes I sat in just that moment. I savored the symphony of wind chimes. I felt the cool breeze on my body. I drifted with the songs of chirping crickets as they waxed and waned. I reveled in the brilliant blue sky, cloudless and crystal clear. I watched two squirrels chasing each other up and down a fence and across the neighbor’s yard. I wondered at the beauty of the shasta daisies, crisply white and yellow against a sea of green, as they bobbed and swayed in the breeze (I even took this picture!)
And I breathed. Just breathed it all in. I sat in the middle of an absolutely spectacular moment on a perfect late summer day and… and nothing. I just sat and enjoyed being fully present.
My tank felt fully recharged after that.
Confession: I experienced a moment of guilt as I gathered my thoughts and came inside to my office. I’ve got so much to do, so many things on my desk. What was I doing?
I wasn’t Doing. I was Being. We gotta make our own happiness. This was one of my moments.
While researching stress management I came across a lovely little online, self-study course on stress. The class consists of ~20 short lessons linked sequentially. Some of the topics are: What is stress?, good and bad stress, tools for relieving stress, and long-term stress strategies. You’ll find the course at http://www.mtstcil.org/skills/stress-intro.html. It appears to have been … Read more