EP139 – How to Use Pressure to Your Advantage
The key to resilience is to use stressful situations to our advantage by reframing them. #AdvancedQualityPrograms #TheQualityGuy #Stressmanagement
Take a breath! We might be surprised to learn that managing stress isn’t just about chilling out. As Albert Einstein said, ‘In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.’
Many people believe that when life gets difficult and business becomes stressful and exhausting, they just need to relax a little, focus on other things, and their overall stress level will decrease, and all will be fine.
This notion likely comes from The Stress-Reduction literature we read, podcasts we listen to, or life coaches we follow. Their advice often includes activities like yoga, meditation, forest bathing, hiking, spending time with friends, or exercise to help relieve stress. Even getting enough sleep can be helpful.
However, while all these activities are undeniably helpful for relieving stress once it has already set in, the problem is that, despite their effectiveness, they don’t prevent chronic stress from building up in the first place.
The key is to avoid letting our stress levels to compound, Instead of asking “Why do we feel stressed?” we should be asking ourselves why we explain certain situations as stressful.
For example, if a customer complains about an order, we might react with a burst of negative emotions: “This is terrible! This is very bad for business and reputation. How will that affect us financially?” This reactions can quickly lead to chronic stress.
Alternatively we could also react more proactively. With a positive approach, we might come up with alternatives like, “Let me understand and learn from this. It’s an opportunity to be proactive and show the customer our commitment to good service.” This mindset will keep us on the right side of the stress curve and help us build resilience.
The best method to use stressful situations to our advantage is to reflect on our initial reaction to it and consider how we can respond differently next time. By understanding our reaction, reframing what’s important, and adjusting how we perceive the situation in relation to our profession and life, we can transform our experience and use it for our own benefit.
Stress management is sometimes confused with simply living a more relaxed life. However, it’s actually about changing how we perceive and respond to the situations we face. While feeling stressed can indicate that something is important to us and we’re invested in doing well, it’s crucial to manage that stress input effectively, to profit from it.
If, for example, for persons that believe their profession and life are always hard and exhausting, the first step is to ask why. Many people hold this perspective because of deeply ingrained beliefs that are part of their identity. For this reason, they may never question their reasons for feeling this way. In that case, working hard to succeed to the point of exhaustion might make sense to them, but it can be generally draining, very demanding, and ultimately lead to burnout.
Using words like “exhausting” or “hard” reinforces a negative mindset tied to a fixed view. To cultivate a growth mindset, where learning and understanding are seen as opportunities, a positive approach and perspective are key. Start by choosing words that emphasize growth, like “learn,” “understand,” and “gain.” Without this shift in perspective, life will likely remain exhausting and difficult, becoming ingrained in our identity. This can lead to the negative consequences of chronic stress.
Another common pitfall, especially among entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals, is the belief that they must always be the best in class. Setting such standards without a healthy perspective also brings people to extreme stress situations without relief. They become a walking pressure cooker. Often, this stems from childhood experiences where they were conditioned to believe that being the best was the way to earn approval from their parents. Good grades were highly praised, while bad ones were met with harsh criticism. They might have been involved in competitive sports, which further reinforced the belief that they must excel to be accepted.
But again, walking that path of constant stress without an exit strategy will eventually burn them out and become a chronic situation.
These individuals might then believe that to reduce stress, they simply need to do more exercise, yoga, or mindfulness activities. While these can provide temporary stress relief, they won’t address the underlying chronic stress situation. The key is to understand and question their emotional attachments to these situations and then reframe them. Only then can they genuinely reduce their chronic stress levels and continue to benefit from their high standards.
Realizing the need to question our stress catalysts and reframe them to find enjoyment in our profession and life is when we truly begin to use stress to our advantage and build resilience. That’s the tipping point that gets us on the right path.
Look, stress management isn’t about making things easy. It’s about understanding that pressure and stress, when managed well, can be used as learning opportunities. After all, stress often arises from things that are important to us. The key questions are: Why is this situation stressful? How can I approach it to learn and grow?
Just like muscles that need stress to grow during exercise, our minds and identities need both challenge and relief to utilize stress for growth. When a muscle isn’t allowed to rest and recover, it gets damaged. Similarly, a mind that’s constantly under stress without relaxation will eventually burn out.
The key to resilience is to use stressful situations to our advantage by reframing them. We should learn from them and grow. Without a shift in perspective and a relief strategy, it all goes to waste. Learn from stress, question it, and only then will you use it for growth.
“Sometimes the strongest force in the world is gentleness.”
Nelson Mandela