Ramblings of a Leader (FEB): STRESS IS A CHOICE
STRESS IS A CHOICE
One of the most important decisions we make is choosing how we handle stress. We are surrounded by stress. In fact, we’re struggling to survive in the midst of a stress epidemic. The same is true for our colleagues. Stress is ubiquitous.
Combining all stress factors results in people who are not at their best. Add the sense of having no power over external circumstances, and you have increasingly stressed, unhealthy, and unbalanced people showing up at work. In that state of mind, a person will succumb to bad decision making, low productivity, impatience, lethargy and irritability. Multiply this effect from one person to a team—or even the majority of people in an organization—and you have a systemic problem.
A person’s choices—or lack of choices—can kick off a cycle of negative energy that depletes the group rather than contributing to it. If that person is the leader, the problem is compounded. Leaders are especially influential in the work environment. One impact leaders can have is to remove or reduce extremely stressful circumstances thereby assisting people to contribute their best.
If we fail to make choices that reduce stress, we undermine our capacity for focus and mindfulness. Centered choices are a cornerstone of personal mastery, and they boost effective evolution for groups and for individuals.
The stress we experience on a daily basis is part of life—people have been stressed throughout history. What is critical is how we handle stress. How we choose to manage stress determines whether we feel overwhelmed or in control. Our ability to grow is supported or undermined by how we handle stress.
We’re ready to fight or flee. The problem is that we’re sitting at a desk or behind the wheel of a car. We’re on the kind of high alert our ancestors needed in the wild, but this isn’t what we need minutes before a big meeting or in the middle of a major decision. Instead, we tend to be more successful in these situations when we are cool, calm, and collected.
Leaders can model how to choose tools to reduce stress so work proceeds in a constructive manner.
Calm is a choice. Stress is a choice. What if stress management was nothing more than making one simple decision?