By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Stress is a killer.
There are some who would say, "there's good stress and then there's bad
stress". That's sort of like saying, "there are good heart attacks and then
there are bad heart attacks".
Maybe there is some positive benefit to the stresses that will enhance our
performance, but, for the most part, stress is a negative, keeping us from
performing at peak levels, damaging our daily productivity, and decreasing
the chances of our longevity.
Many blame stress on external forces. "We are living in stressful times."
"This is a stressful job." "My boss (husband, wife, co-worker, customer,
client, kid, etc.) is really stressing me out."
The world is not really a stressful place and these are not really stressful
times. There really are no stressful jobs. If any of these were true, then
everyone in that community, job, relationship, etc. would be stressed. Some
are. Maybe most are. But some are not.
There are many "stress reduction" programs, seminars, and courses out there.
Most are effective. But, rather than treat the symptoms, what if we treated
the disease and rid ourselves of the causes of the stress?
Most stress is internal, caused by the ways in which we relate to the world
and events and people around ourselves. Stress is caused when there is a
disconnect between our expectation and our reality. When reality falls short
of an expectation, it creates a disappointment and that causes stress.
For example, let us say you drove your car to work today, your car was
parked in the nearby parking lot, and you will leave work today at 5:00 p.m.
You probably have an expectation that your car will be right where you left
it when you got to the parking lot this afternoon. Well, what if you were to
discover at 5:00 p.m. that your car has been stolen? I would imagine most of
us would feel some stress from finding out about our stolen car!
But, what if you return to the parking lot this afternoon and there is your
car exactly where you left it this morning? You insert the key and drive
away. Do you experience stress over finding your car where you left it? No,
because expectation and reality match up.
While most of us will experience those larger disappointments in life, they
are typically few and far between so that our bodies have a chance to cope
and recover. Rather, it is all the little disappointments, which seem
inconsequential individually, but when added together throughout a day, will
really build up the stress. (Dealing with the morning rush hour, not getting
things done on time, tasks piling up, personal errands not attended to,
etc.)
The solution? Bring your realities up to your expectations. How? Through
effective Daily Planning. Make sure that you plan to do the little things
you want and expect should be done in addition to all the things you "have
to" do during the day. Build a Daily Action list that incorporates both the
"have to's" and the "want to's". Prioritize this list and tackle them in the
order of their importance to you.
Our goal will never eliminate stress completely but, with more effective
planning, we can reduce and stabilize stress.
Would you like to avoid the Top Five Time Management Mistakes? Request our
free follow-up article entitled, "Top Five Time Management Mistakes". Send
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Don Wetmore is a full-time Professional Speaker who specializes
exclusively in the topics of Time Management and Personal Productivity.
He conducts his nationally acclaimed Time Management Seminars
throughout the world for people who want more out of life in less time,
in both their work and personal lives and with less stress. His
seminars are entertaining, fast paced and filled with practical, common
sense ideas and tools. One of the country's leading experts on this
topic, he is the author of "Beat the Clock!".
You may contact him:
Don Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
60 Huntington St. P.O. Box 2126
Shelton, CT 06484
(800) 969-3773
(203) 929-9902
fax: (203) 929-8151
email:
ctsem@msn.com
webpage:
http://www.balancetime.com
