Stress is a key factor that influences how you feel about your work. We normally think of stress as something that is created by outside influences, but we also create a lot of stress ourselves through the way we think, the beliefs we hold and our behaviours. As a career coach I help my clients understand how changing their thoughts and behaviours can make them more resilient.
The power or resilience
Have you ever noticed that some people seem to be able to deal with stress situations so much better than others? Ever wondered why this is? They may be in exactly the same situation as others but respond to it differently. They have a higher resilience.
Some of this may be down to better organisation and other skills that they have developed to deal with challenging situations. I believe though that your internal mindset has a much bigger impact on the way you feel in a stress situation than your organisation skills. Here are a few key topics that are relevant in this context:
Motivation: If you love what you do, you are likely to be far more resistant to stress than somebody who resents his or her work. You are genuinely interested in what you do and appreciate the challenge instead of resisting it. If on the other way you stay in a job you resent, the internal resistance can add a lot of stress to an already demanding situation.
Perfectionism: If you set unrealistic standards for yourself, you can exhaust yourself pretty quickly. Nothing you do will ever be enough. How can it, as you strive for a perfect result in each and every situation? This not only generates a stressful expectation, you probably also judge yourself harshly for simply not being “good” enough. It’s a common pattern and hard to break because perfectionism has also an upside: it can make you a high-achiever. But at what price…?
Low self-esteem: If you have low self-esteem, you can easily become stressed about work because you already think that you will not be able to deal with the demands that are placed on you. You know you are doomed, that people don’t value you and you probably resent yourself for being this way.
Negative emotions: Any negative emotions that you are holding will add to the stress you experience. They may not even need to be work related. You may feel frustrated or angry because of other areas in your life and bring those emotions to your work place. Maybe you snap because you are still angry after a fight with your spouse or an incident of road rage. It is important to know that emotions don’t just happen to you. You create them. This may be a new concept to you but understanding this process and learning to manage it, is key to living a fulfilled life.
I cover all of these topics in detail in my book: “Falling in love with you job – How to create more excitement and fulfilment in your career.” Some of them require a deep exploration of the way you function as an individual, and my book will help you start with this. And the good news is that the management of your internal stress factors is in your control. Understanding what they are and taking steps to get a grip on them will benefit you in many ways, whether at work or in other areas in your life.
Work with us to increase YOUR resilience
Would you like to improve your resilience and job satisfaction? We are here to help. You can book a FREE Discovery Call here with me or one of my hand picked career coaches.