At the risk of stating the obvious, most folks are under a boat-load of stress these days. And coping with that stress the best they know how, probably with some combination of healthy and unhealthy approaches. (Just as a quick reminder, healthy ways include exercising a little more, getting enough sleep, spending time with friends and finding things to laugh about. Unhealthy ways are usually some variation on the "too much" theme, as in too much of a good thing, like: drinking alcohol, eating comfort food, using shopping therapy, surfing the Web or watching TV.) Regardless of the approach, most of us are reactively trying to either get rid of stress altogether, or if we really had our way, to simply avoid it entirely.
But you don't REALLY want to do either one, and let me tell you why. Stress in and of itself is not bad for you. Not only is stress an unavoidable fact of life, but also one of the most essential ingredients to personal and professional success. Psychologists and physicians have been researching the positive and negative effects of stress since early in the 20th century and learning more every day. For example, check out Newsweek's cover article in mid January on positive side of stress, and this rather obviously titled article on the negative effects: Why Stress is Deadly). Yet far too many of us are none-the-wiser for how to work effectively with stress in our own lives.
So here's my bottom line: let's stop leading and living in a state of chronic overstress that clearly is not working for us. And take all the amazing learning we have out there about stress & health & peak performance and start using it. (I am brilliant at stating the obvious, aren't I?) My coming postings are directly targeted to helping you — both as human beings and especially as leaders – take a strategic approach to reducing overstress and engaging healthy stress, to move you more powerfully and easily toward your goals.
