Most stress is caused by cowardice. Let me explain. Stress can be caused by not having the courage to:
– Have a difficult conversation
– Say no unreasonable demands (e.g. workload)
– Ask for help (includes delegation)
– Turn off a Blackberry and trust that the world will function without your attention for a few hours
– Do what you were called to do in your life and not settle for the safe option
Note that most of these will result in a temporary increase in stress before stress goes down, this is “the hump” and it takes real stress balls to overcome it.
I’m being somewhat playful when I talk of stress balls and don’t mean to seem rude or judgemental. Often the kindest thing that I can say to stress management clients is to call them on where they claim victim status in order empower them to do something about the things they can change. There are of course other areas that are genuinely impossible to change and there is another kind of stress that comes about through non-acceptance…but that’s another article.
So don’t get a stress ball if you are suffering from stress, look where you need to have more courage and sort it out.
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