There is a common myth today that you can almost alleviate stress by adjusting your work/life balance.
Changing your work/life balance is unrealistic – and is in itself stressful! Recent statistics from the OECD show that Australians are amongst the hardest workers (in the total number of hours worked per week) compared to workers in any other country.
Senior executives and CEOs regularly work in excess of 70 hours per week. When work accounts for 70 hours or more the remaining activities are inevitably compromised. Physical exercise and relaxation strategies such as meditation will help you to reduce your stress levels however stress is a fact of life.
Stress cannot be alleviated, however it can be managed. Many business people live with stress constantly! They have too little time, too much or too little information, more competitors to contend with, issues with the management of staff, their peers and the Board.
In times past when we were hunters/gatherers, the activation of the ‘fight/flight’ mechanism, the ‘on switch’ for stress acted as a warning signal – move on or be eaten by a tiger! The tigers are now in differing guises yet our primitive brain still activates the stress response. The ‘fight/flight’ mechanism releases powerful neuro-chemicals and hormones when this response is activated. This release happens automatically, without our full awareness.
The response is ‘hard wired’ into our physiology. When stress is a constant in your life, for example a long term illness or anxiety about job performance then your body has no opportunity to replenish its lost reserves and the ‘flight/fight’ mechanism remains on. Continual stress leads to ill health, even life threatening disease such as heart attacks and some cancers.
The most potent way to reduce your stress is to manage your thinking.
- What is your usual response when your working scenario presents you with a series of challenges?
- How do you think about the issues?
- How much of your thinking contributes to the stress you experience every day?
A colleague of mine often asks his clients: “do you react or do you respond?” The words easily conjure up the meaning. Reaction is fiery, sudden, without deep thought; response is more measured, more deliberate. Think about how you act - do you react or respond?
Managing your thinking requires awareness of the type of thoughts you are experiencing:
- Do you have a negative view of situations generally?
- Do you worry constantly perhaps lying awake at night?
- How often is your worry justified?
One technique that you can easily use is to question or challenge your own thinking. By asking yourself:
- Is this thought justified?
- Is the outcome a possibility or does it represent my fear?
- Who is really behind this thought?
Often negative thinking emanates from inherited belief systems. Challenge your thinking by asking yourself – how likely is this situation to occur?
When you face the possible outcome of a situation – “What is the worst thing that can happen?” you begin to take charge of the situation and not become a victim to it.
There are many powerful tools to reduce stress, the most potent one you have is to manage your own thoughts.