This
blog I dedicate to all the stress in this world. I am putting it this way
because, it is a stressed world and the magnitude of stress handled is the
unsaid performance indicator, both in the corporate world and in day-to-day
life and relationships. Think deep and delve into my last sentence again, and
this time more consciously. Does it make you realise how true and get a sense
of how real it is in your life? If you still didn't get it, let me explain
more. In the corporate world, the busier you are, you are considered important
and indispensable. I do not want to get into the controversies of resources who
fake a busy schedule and do not deliver results. These, I call the 'Blamers'.
They look busy, talk a lot in self-defense and are very generous to blame
everything other than themselves. Leaving the exceptions out, I do want to
include the ones who I call the 'Do-ers', personified as the ones who are so
busy delivering work but differ from the ones I would call the 'Go-getters' who
are busy and getting it all done. The difference between the two is simply, the
Go-getters manage the Do-ers and are most often regarded high-performers.
Whether you are a Do-er or a Go-getter, your life is defined by a busy schedule
in which your to-do list never comes to an end on the same day. While you are
making conversions, there are often times when you are physically present while
your mind is tasking the next set of things to be done and is rehearsing the
day ahead by every minute and hour.
The
busier you get and the multitude of things you handle coupled with your
personal responsibilities and commitments that clash in and out of your
schedule causes, 'Stress'. How you are as a person defines how well you have
coped with stress." - This statement is true and you can test it on
yourself or by thinking about an individual who best fits the descriptions
below:
- you have forgotten to pay your bills on time at least ones during the month.
- you have missed more than one important family event/gathering/commitment during the month.
- your close circle of family or friend often comment that you are never available for them.
- at work in a month, you miss deadlines at least ones or in-order to meet the deadline you have compromised something very important to you. Could be your birthday, anniversary, medical appointment, etc.,
- you lose your temper often and/or show it by irrational behaviors at least ones in a day. Like, shouting unreasonably at someone who works under you; driving fast to catch-up on time; constantly on phone while driving and trying to justify that you are working smart by having wireless/hands-free calls;
- you start to have health issues, maybe hypertension/insomnia, etc.,
- your sleep and eating pattern is disturbed. You either sleep less or more; your eating pattern is more finger/junk food.
- you addicted to at least one thing, say smoking/coffee/soda.
If
you meet all or half the above, you will soon reach a point when you will feel completely
burnt out. Mostly, it is at this breach point that you think of change. A
change to food or exercise or bigger changes in terms of changing a job or
relationship. Then, you again get back in the race of getting stressed until
you reach the next breach point. An endless vicious cycle that keeps repeating
itself until you retire one day or health forces you to retire.
But
if this the cycle that most human follow and the expectation is set for it be
normal to be stressed why do we complain or reach breech points. A routine
lifestyle should ideally get us used to it, why do we struggle with it?
Why do we keep hearing, stress management, and how stress has harmful effects
on the human body and ways to handle it?. why do we want to handle stress
in a special way?
Most
persons fitting the above descriptions were closed to burn out state and I
often heard them say, 'to handle stress is better said than done'.
Now
comes my view on this. Do not try to handle stress. You will never succeed.
What I believe is in embracing it. Change your perception to it. You are not
under stress but you are just genuinely busy simply trying to do at least 48-hour
work in 8 - 24 hours. The way you set your bar defines your capacity and
limitations to being a Do-er/ Go-getter. To cope with your busy schedule you
need to have an acutely sharp brain that processes, delegates and carves out
the quick ways to achieve your end result in less time. To be able to make more
time, amend your lifestyle if needed. What you will not compromise is getting a
personal time to yourself. At least an hour in a weekday even if it is short
breaks that make up an hour of your awake time and a few hours over weekends.
This personal time you use wisely since its the most precious. Do what you like
to do in your personal time, being happy gives a sense of self-satisfaction
that boosts your energy. But this solves only half the problem. The main
problem is on how your mind perceives about what you are doing. If your mind
perceives that you are depressed, dis-satisfied, humiliated or simply unhappy,
this is the matter of concern to be addressed by you. This thought is what
causes stress. Then everything that you do seems/ gets difficult. During such
times, be bold enough to accept it and listen to your intuitions tell you as the
right thing to do. Be bold enough to do what your mind is telling you as the
right thing to do. You may not always get your expected outcomes. But, have you
been always right otherwise. Following your voice will build an energy force in
you to get better at things. So, make sure to listen to yourself. There is a
widely stressed world that gets you busy, directs you to dance to its tunes and
the best way to conquer is with your own mind. Listen to yourself.
