Stress Management

One of the ways to manage stress is not to take things personally which means become detached from the situation.

Learn to stop you mind-chatters so they don't snow-ball. Learn to have a different perspective on things.

Last time, I took members through an Avatar exercise called This and That.

Instructions:
1. Pick a situation (a problem for example)
2. Think of the situation as this situation.
3. Think of the situation as that situation.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 several times.

Folks felt that just by doing that they got a sense of separation from the situation and less wallowed in the situation.

Today, I talked to one of the LPGers. He said that he tried the exercise out earlier in the week and felt a relief.

I am glad to hear that.

Even in my "retirement" from IBM, I sometimes feel stressed, primarily because I'm trying to start a web presence (which I hope will turn into a company). There are so many things I have to do and to learn. But using the This and That exercise does help me to stop my self-talks and have another perspective.

For this Friday's LPG, we will continue on Session 2 of Stress Management based on Don't Sweat the Small Stuff."

10/10 Meeting Agenda and Discussion Materials Stress Management

We had a wonderful meeting last Friday on Stress Management. Present were: Roger, Al, Jingli, Sandra, Eldon, Brent, Brian, Hoa, Jindong and Gilma:

I triggered the conversation with the following slide deck:

http://sites.google.com/site/leadershippracticegroup/Home/Phase-2-Plan/Crisis-management

As usual, the best way to run LPG was to ask questions.

It's my belief that if I do well to

"Don't sweat the small stuff .... " I will be less stressed.

And most folks would agree with that common sense approach. But,

What is the fine line between letting go and living in denial until little problems accumulate and become out of control, such as our current global financial crisis.

What is the difference between: Make peace with imperfections and procrastination.

We might all want to ponder over it a bit.

We will pick up our conversations next time at Slide 9: "Don't interrupt others or finish their sentences." This particular small stuff has the additonal benefit of not causing irritation and stress on someone else. Have you noticed that there are people whose mere presence brings steadiness and calmness while there are others who causes uneasiness and tension. This little trick may be the difference.

Also, there was agreement at the meeting that the small stuff book might be good for folks to obtain and for the group to drill deeper.

Stress Management

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude -- William James

Stress management starts with not letting negative aspects of life blow out of proportions and cloud our outlook on life.

"We often rush around looking busy, trying to solve problems, but in reality, we are often compounding them. Because everything seems like such a big deal, we end up spending our life dealing with one drama after another, " writes Richard Carlson in Don't sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff.

In this week's LPG, Al would engage you in talking about small stuff. What small stuff we face everyday? And how we tend to view them? And are there different approaches in dealing with them?

My own experience is that if I am successful in not letting small stuff grates me, I am less stressed.

Won't you bring you lunch bag, come to LPG and learn how not to let small stuff get on your nerves?

Habits

Here are some memorable quotes about habits:

Jack Canfield, The Power of Focus:

• Your habits will determine your future.
• Your habits will determine your quality of life.
• Successful people have successful habits.
• The results of your habits usually don't show up until much later in life.
• Developing successful habits takes time.

That's why we do LPG.