When problems and frustrations arise in your personal or working life, is your reaction:
- Hostile – critical, angry, cynical, blaming, indignant, interrogating?
- Helpless – disengaged, depressed, hopeless, withdrawn?
- Helpful – respectful, co-operative, confident, resilient, encouraging?
What about the reactions of the people in your work or personal life who are most important to you?
I guess you’d probably say, “It depends” or “a mixture”.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could stop the stress-filled hostile and helpless reactions?
Here are three ideas to help you always react in the helpful way and influence others to do that too:
- Put a ‘stop loss’ order on your stresses.
The idea comes from financial investing. When investors buy shares they give themselves peace of mind by putting a stop loss order on them. Then, if the shares drop to a certain value they are automatically sold before a bigger loss happens.
How could you apply this? Well, you might, calmly, tell a friend, family member or colleague who is perpetually late for meetings that you’ll put a ‘stop loss’ on your time of ten minutes. That’s the most time you’ll spend waiting for them.
Another way is to look for the positive learning in a negative experience. This stops you experiencing the double loss – the negative experience and the negative stress about it. - Discover how you can use stress-dampening, stress training, stress proofing and stress prevention to manage your stress and the stress of others in this workshop:
Stress Management for Managers Thursday 15 May, 08.45 – 12.45, Cambridge. Book soon to grab the early bird rate.
“I found the seminar very helpful. A good explanation of every aspect with answers and advice tailored to specific and individual circumstances. I now have a greater perspective on how we can improve on productivity and reduce the issues by tackling stress in the office.” Lee Green, Manager, Kloeber - If you’d prefer a 1-2-1 approach, I’m offering a free From Stress to Success Discovery Session. I have only four slots available. We’ll discuss your stress levels in your business, career or personal life. We’ll uncover hidden barriers to eliminating stress. We’ll get clear on how you can manage or elimate your stress. You’ll go away feeling positive, excited and certain about your next steps.
If you would like to apply for a session, just email me: madeleine@growu.co.uk
______________________________________