Stressed at work?

I was once too proud to label myself as stressed. Even though there were physical signs. Alopecia (bald patches with facial hair), headaches, heart palpitations and one or two episodes of the wobbles. It took a body rash that itched like hell for me to see a doctor. He prescribed me beach time to meditate. I took that prescription and off I went to Sydney’s Coogee beach that weekend but it wasn’t long before I was spending my weekends again in the pubs managing my stress. It took a few more lessons for me to surrender and sort myself out. 14 years later and I’ve never felt better, I also have a beard without patches.

The corporate environment is stressful, companies are more than ever competing on margins, market share, cost reduction and shareholder value. This equates to doing more with less resources and more expectations on staff to perform. If not managed in a way that’s right for you, that pressure can burn you out without you even realising it until it shows up in some physical manifestation. If it was easy to manage, everyone would be doing it and we’d all be bouncing out of bed. But it’s not, it takes work. Work in awareness, understanding, practice, discipline and consistency. It’s not easy but the payoff is worth more than any money or tangible asset in the world. Interestingly, my promotions took off soon after I started working on this stuff.

Giving a presentation, speaking up in a meeting, waiting on a reply to an email, feeling pressure to network, handling a boss low on EQ, an ongoing imposture story, a client blowing up, making a mistake. This list of triggers can go on and on. What if I told you that you’ve more control than you think. You can choose to step into the triggers with courage. Use the stress as simply a signal to embrace your potential and nothing more. To stop devoting your energy to fears, worries and anxieties. Instead, start operating with calm and confidence to effectively get the job done while maintaining your health.

What’s the solution? Allow me to get deep for a second. First get clear on the bigger picture, why you are doing what you’re doing and its purpose. Identify that number one motivation in the grand scheme of your life. Knowing this will ease your approach to the day to day detail. And it’s OK to not know exactly what your number 1 motivation is but I reckon you have a sense of something bigger, that will suffice for now. Flowing then with this is the formation of daily positive habits that suit you.

And that’s where I come in. To use a sports analogy, it’s halfway through the season and you’re in the bottom half of the league table but you believe deep down you could be at the top. I come in as your coach to work in-depth off the field so you start winning on it. You’ll find your drivers, purpose and habits that will keep you striving forward in a clear, calm and confident manner.