“Up ahead they’s a thousan’ lives we might live, but when it comes, it’ll on’y be one.”
Ma in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
Tag: stress
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Quote to Consider: Best Not to Over-Think It
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Listen In -> Self Care. A Smart Career Move #4: Challenging Yourself to Achieve
Create your own stress!You’ve got to be kidding, right? Who would choose to create their own stress?
In this week’s show, Claudia and I discuss the importance of challenge to a successful career. In other words, we’ll be talking about a positive form of stress relating to getting something done or achieving something new.
We all have a part of ourselves that wants to contribute and make a difference. To accomplish something.
It’s not enough to simply get by. If you aren’t challenging yourself to achieve, then you’re doing yourself a huge disservice.
Overstated? Listen in.
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Don’t Let Their Meltdown Become Your Meltdown
It’s certainly not fun to watch the stock market fall, taking your long term savings and possibly a dream or two with it.It’s certainly not comforting to watch entire companies close their doors, creating instant unemployment for not just a few skilled workers.
And no one likes hearing about anyone losing their home, even in the maddening case when the initial mortgage commitment was irresponsible.
My question for you is, “Are you letting their meltdown become your meltdown?”
It’s easy to start worrying about our own job security, financial well-being, and credit issues. But there is a big difference between the sort of reality check some of us need to make us face the facts about our money practices and the sort of shared anxiety based, not on facts, but on the broader climate of uneasiness, fear and panic.
One question you might want to ask yourself is, “Am I making this decision to make myself feel less anxious today, or is this the best possible choice to help me achieve my short and long term financial goals and commitments?”
In times of economic stress, it is easy to slip into making decisions in order to make us feel better. This is where we risk allowing their meltdown to become our meltdown.
What we are looking for is a sense of poise instead of panic. Perspective instead of overwhelm. Strategy instead of fear.
Poise is both an interior and exterior posture that is steady, balanced and paying attention. Poise is not easily knocked over or thrown off course by the unexpected earthquakes and/or hurricanes of life. Poise involves maintaining one’s composure to better assess the situation, distinguish between fact and fear, and think more clearly.
Perspective is a vantage point. Perspective involves being able to step back and look at issues from more than one angle. Perspective rejects isolation and consults with safe and experienced friends, associates and professionals.
Strategy is wisdom committed to action. Strategy discerns urgent issues requiring immediate decisions. Strategy recognizes longer term possibilities and holds or adjusts course accordingly. Strategy does not recoil from difficult decisions, because its validation does not come from needing to feel better right away.
Validation is the peace that is available from a posture of poise, a vantage point with perspective, and a thoughtful strategy of next steps.
What are you doing to prevent their meltdown from becoming your meltdown?
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Listen In -> Uncertainty & Stress #5: Stay Connected to Your Relational Network
If you were to lose your job, how surprised would your network of acquaintances be to hear from you?
What if you were already in conversation with a wide circle of people on an on-going basis?
In our series on Uncertainty and Stress, Claudia and I conclude with a look at the value of maintaining casual relationships.
No special skills are necessary. No massive investment of time is required. Just you at your most natural, authentic and comfortable self, taking an occasional initiative to check in with those in your circles.
Talk about something you can do to reduce your own stress levels!
Listen in.
Catch up on the entire series on Uncertainty and Stress.
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Surviving Uncertainty and Stress
What’s the most stressful part of hearing rumors of lay-offs? Possibly losing one’s job? Possibly losing a valuable team member? No. Neither actually. It’s the uncertainty.
Think about it. Uncertainty.
How will the weak economy affect you? Uncertainty. What will happen at your performance review? Uncertainty. The person who hired you is fired. Uncertainty. An unexpected opportunity presents itself. Uncertainty.
Give me a defined problem any day. I can face a disaster. I can get help with a problem. I can develop a new skill. I can confront a bully. But please don’t leave me hanging.
The key to surviving uncertainty is not to beg, bargain or complain, manipulate or manufacture certainty. Certainty is elusive at best and not possible in many instances.
The key to surviving uncertainty is to identify which choices are in your control and which choices are not. By letting go of the things outside of your control (e.g. the economy, a supervisor’s idiosyncracies, the weaknesses over in the sales department, etc.), you can focus on the things you can control.
Where do you have control? Ask yourself, “Where can my choices make a difference?”
You can find new ways to add value and engage more fully with your current position. You can nurture your network of relationships, near and far, so that you have positive connections in a variety of contexts. You can find opportunities to learn new skills and expand current ones, especially skills that are transferable across a variety of fields.
The negative stress associated with uncertainty will be replaced with a sense of purposefulness and personal power. Though those with more power in the organization may make decisions that complicate your life, you will know that you are doing all you can to be a value-adding team member, a well-connected community member, and an irrepressible transferable skill developer.
Instead of worrying, you will be ready to make your next decision. Now, that feels good!
On your side,
– Karl Edwards
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Listen In -> Uncertainty & Stress #4: Build Your Transferable Skills
In uncertain economic times, it can seem like we are at the mercy of the decisions of others. Supervisors making staffing cuts, politicians making tax, spending and policy changes, economic trends beyond our influence.
Over the past several weeks, Claudia and I have been discussing where we do have choices. Listen in as we talk about the power of expanding and honing our transferable skills.
When we can view ourselves in terms of the transferable skills we possess instead of in terms of our current job description and its responsibilities, we open up a world of professional opportunities to which we were previously blind.
Listen in.
Catch up on the entire series on Uncertainty & Stress.
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Listen In -> Uncertainty & Stress #3: Knowing Where Your Money is Going
Keeping our focus on the things that we can control, our attention shifts this week to our personal finances.
Many people feel they have no choices when it comes to money. It’s all gone before the next pay check even arrives. The bills pile up, and the thought of losing your job keeps you up at night.
Do we really have no choices? Or could it be that there are some choices available that we do not see?
In this week’s podcast conversation, we suggest taking a look at where you spend your money. Try breaking down your expenses into three categories: fixed commitments, flexible values, and discretionary extras.
You’ll be surprised at what you find. Just knowing where you have choices will take an enormous weight off your shoulders.
Listen in.
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Listen In -> Uncertainty & Stress #2: Add Value to Your Current Job
Always in our own control is how we choose to show up at work.
Fully engaged? Detached? Withholding? Resistant?
In this week’s podcast conversation, Claudia and I look at the practice of adding value to whatever you do at work. Not only is full engagement a more rewarding personal experience, in times of uncertainty such consistent contributions can make the difference between being perceived as an indispensable asset or not.
Listen in.
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Listen In -> Uncertainty & Stress #1: Taking the Stress Out of Uncertainty
We are surrounded by uncertainty. Economists can’t agree whether or not we’re in a recession. Large corporations in the news are cutting back on staff and closing factories and storefronts. The government is mailing out stimulus checks to spark some spending.
This week we begin a new podcast series entitled Taking the Stress Out of Uncertainty.
Instead of losing sleep over the things we cannot control, listen in over the next five weeks as Claudia and I discuss what is in our control.
- Week #1: Taking the Stress Out of Uncertainty
- Week #2: Add Value to Your Current Job
- Week #3: Know Where Your Money is Going
- Week #4: Build Your Transferable Skills
- Week #5: Stay Connected to Your Relationship Network
Listen in.
- Week #1: Taking the Stress Out of Uncertainty
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Courage to Face the Day
Some mornings it requires nothing less than courage to face the day.Our stresses are many. Pressure comes from unexpected quarters. Projects are not turning out the way we planned. Sabotage seems more common than support. The political winds shift against us. Money dries up and options seem scarce. No one answers when you shout, “Where’s the love?!”
Some mornings we simply need to be our own best friend. Say to ourselves,
“Hey friend. I believe in you. As daunting as the day threatens to be, it will be worse for all involved if you don’t show up.
No one else can give the contribution that is yours to bring today. No one.
I know you’re weary. I know you feel assaulted on multiple fronts. I know it’s not fair. But I know you. And you don’t give up. You can’t stop caring. You won’t allow those around you to settle for less than best, and you won’t allow yourself to in this case either.
Someone, maybe even God, has given you to this day as much if not more than given this day to you. It’s time now to face it and engage it. I believe in you.”
What do you say to yourself to muster the courage to face the day?
