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Stress can be a great teacher if we are willing to listen. I’m not always in the mood for listening, especially to my big bully “stress,” but lately I’ve been having civil conversations with these feelings and we’ve learned to become friends.
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When I’m in need of a creative adjustment, I visit Lateral Action. They fix me almost every time.
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Twitter is a great work happiness tool, so join me and let’s work happy together @workhappynow.
If you enjoyed this video then check these unique takes on work:
That’s one optimistic way to view stress!
Karl, I loved your video. What a fantastic idea to have a “civil conversation” with your stress. I’m going to have to try that out. Thanks for the great insight today!
Good stuff.
The big surprise for me on stress is the distinction with anxiety. Stress is your body’s response and anxiety is your cognitive response. The world’s best athletes manage their anxiety and use stress to be their best. We can’t always control the things that create our stress, but we can greatly influence how we respond. It’s largely the meaning we make. Is that roller coaster a thrilling ride or did your heart lodge firmly in your throat when you went over the last dip.
Hi Anthony, I believe we have to keep finding the positive otherwise we head in the wrong direction – becoming a complainer.
Hi Stephen, by being open to the stress we can see why it’s there. We just need to find a middle ground so our stress is appeased as well as our comfort level.
Hi J.D., great point. Anxiety is manageable, we just need to learn how to use it to our advantage. When we break it down, there are many kinds of stress. It’s up to us to figure out what our feelings our telling us, so we don’t push ourselves over the edge.
Great video! I do well with stress, but only in small amounts, ha! Maybe its due to my current physical health(one reason why I’m on disability now), but, I love being able to solve some of the challenges in my life, job and business.
The more coping strategies I have, the better.
This is interesting because I have just recently made a similar discovery regarding growth. I have been building my business from scratch and going through some HUGE changes, leaps and well….growth. It’s uncomfortable as heck. But I am embracing the stretching as it happens because I know that that growth benefits me in the long run.
I like the idea of looking at stress in the same way too. In fact, there are lots of emotions it would probably be a good idea to make “friends” with. 🙂
Hi Karl
Great for you to be able to turn it around and use that energy positively.
I find with emotional change we generally only need to experience that difference a few times – maybe even once only – and then we have a reference that we can draw on in the future.
Juliet