Balance Stress to Empower Success
Balance Stress to Empower Success
At the end of 2020, I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Molly Brady about the intersection of stress and success. Here are my top 3 takeaways:
- Stress is not something that needs to be fixed. Yes, we need healthy coping mechanisms for stress, but there is nothing wrong with you and you don’t need to be fixed just because you experience stress.
In the words of Dr. Brady: “Stress is a normal response. We are wired to respond to changes in our environment—to demands that are placed upon us—with a stress response.”
It’s important to notice if stress becomes chronic or overwhelming and proactively address unchecked stress, but humans are wired to experience stress. Stress is normal and can even be a good thing (we’ll get to that later).
- The pandemic is a rolling dumpster fire. Yeah, yeah, you already know that, but it’s actually really important in the context of offering yourself space and forgiveness for feeling more stressed, depressed, and tired than usual.
Dr. Brady explains: The pandemic hasn’t been a single stressor from which we could then recover. Rather, it’s been a constant, unrelenting source of stress. Such prolonged stress inevitably impacts thinking skills and thus performance.
What does this mean? Go easy on yourself! Offer yourself (and others) forgiveness and compassion. Also, it doesn’t hurt to double-check tasks, communications, and other aspects of your day that involve problem-solving.
- Find the middle ground. Ultimately, stress can be helpful or hurtful. Stress can help keep us focused and productive, or it can be paralyzing. The first step in finding middle ground is self-inquiry. Are you someone who generally is on the higher or lower end of arousal? In other words, are you generally someone who experiences a higher level of stress on a daily basis, or are you someone who is usually pretty laid back? Your answer affects what you should do pre-performance.
If you generally have a higher level of stress, you need to intentionally introduce ways to calm yourself pre-performance. For example, if you are about to give a major presentation, you may benefit from gentle yoga, meditation, journaling, or reading a familiar book.
If you’re generally laid back, you may benefit from, as Dr. Brady puts it, turning on that Jock Jams tape. Of course, you don’t have to literally pump yourself up by listening to Jock Jams, but you should do something to heighten your arousal and increase your sense of urgency. For example, you may benefit from doing cardiovascular exercise, dancing to upbeat music, or listening to a powerful motivational speech.
Overall, as we move through the beginning of 2021, remember to offer yourself compassion. While 2020 may be over, we’re still experiencing the prolonged, unrelenting stress of a global pandemic.
I invite you to take some time and reflect on whether you could benefit from a calming or energizing pre-performance activity. (Remember, it may change depending on the day, and that’s okay!) I sure plan on taking some time before diving into work to think about what sort of support I should offer myself. Most importantly, if you’re experiencing more stress than usual, you’re not alone.