Stresspensation: Evaluating the Impact of Stress in Career Decision Making

Brad was an incredibly bright young executive with a very promising future. Ever since graduating college, he seemed to take on increased responsibilities in his company like a duck to water. He married his college sweetheart, Nancy, right after graduation and has two small children. Brad's talent didn't go unnoticed in the industry, with several competitors approaching Brad about his willingness to join another firm. He steadfastly resisted, that is until the offer of all offers came his way.

ACME Corp, a larger and more prominent competitor to his current company, wined and dined Brad and ultimately offered him a VP position with a higher salary and better benefits. The offer was too good to pass up so Brad talked with Nancy about the job and they both became enamored with how this was going to advance Brad's career and what they would be able to do with the extra money. Brad joyfully accepted ACME's offer, gave his current company two weeks' notice, and started in his new VP role.

Within a year of joining ACME, he noticed some unexpected side effects of his new position. He was required to be in weekly global executive virtual meetings which could happen at any time of the day or night. He was routinely working 60+ hours a week, missing dinner with Nancy and the kids. He traveled at least once a week, many times to put out fires at clients. His eating habits were horrendous and he wasn't exercising due to his schedule. He began putting on weight. Nancy was frustrated with him not being around and his kids missed their daddy. The stress was unbearable and led to Brad one day grabbing his chest and collapsing during a customer meeting.

While the above story about Brad is fictional, each one of us knows of a Brad (or perhaps is Brad) who made a career choice without considering the effects of the extra stress. The American Institute of Stress (yes there is such an organization) has quantified the cost of stress to employers at $300 billion annually due to things such as absenteeism, accidents, turnover, diminished productivity, and medical costs. Add to that the personal costs of stress (i.e., poor health, weight gain/loss, sleep deprivation) and the relationship costs of stress (i.e., fractured relationships, friends or loved ones alienation, missed school plays), and you have a perfect storm of negative factors which make any kind of work-life balance virtually impossible to attain. In my 30 years of working with career professionals, stress typically takes a back seat to compensation and when considered, it is usually only a slice of the true stress level that the professional will endure. In the first ten years of my own career I saw stress as a given and gave it no consideration when evaluating career alternatives. This was a big mistake and a lesson I learned the hard way. Fortunately I learned it early in my career and was able to make some positive changes. However, some professionals never get it.

To help the professional evaluate the impact of stress when deciding on a career change, I've defined a comparative increase/decrease method to evaluate the impact of stress, based on three stress types:

(a) Relationship Stress

(b) Work Stress

(c) Personal Stress

For each stress type, a qualitative degree of stress is defined as follows:

1 - Minimal Stress

2 - Moderate Stress

3 - Significant Stress

In evaluating the impact of stress, each of the three stress types is assigned a value for the current and new job alternatives, then a comparative increase/decrease assessment is derived for each stress type. Let's put this to an example.

Lets say that a systems analyst (I'll call her Ann) is currently in a job paying $90,000/year and she's been offered a new position paying $100,000/year. On the surface, Ann likes the idea of a $10k raise and looks at the three stress types for each job, as follows:

Current Position

Relationship stress = 2 due to infrequent evening meetings only.
Personal stress = 1 due to ability to keep up with personal interests without sacrifice
Work stress = 2 due to some tight deadlines
New Position

Relationship stress = 3 due to evening meetings and four international trips/year to work with offshore developers
Personal stress = 2 due to having to alter exercise schedule, and having to drop book club
Work stress = 3 due to mission critical deadlines and regular status updates to senior management
When you look at the three stress types the following pops out about the new position:

Stress Type    Current Position    New Position    Increase/Decrease
Relationship      2                   3                Increase

Personal          1                   2                Increase

Work              2                   3                Increase

Ann is now faced with the following decision: Is the salary bump of $10k worth the incremental relationship, personal and work stress she'll endure? Depending on whatever other decision criteria Ann factors into her decision, the answer could be yes or no. Whether or not she takes the job is still her decision; what the process has done is forced her to consider the three stress types and derive data points in which she can use in her overall decision-making.

There are a number of important considerations for you to digest in using this methodology:

First, this is not an autonomic decision-making tool where the numeric answer is the sole job determinant. The impact of stress methodology is meant to bring relationship, personal, and work stress factors to the forefront of your decision making process.

Second, you need to be realistic about stress levels. "Wishing down" a stress level doesn't make it go away; it just sets you up for a letdown (or worse) after you've made your decision.

Third, you need to let your friends and loved ones come up with the relationship stress value and not assume a value for them. The real benefit in the methodology is the thought process and discussions you have along the way. Don't shortcut how your stress type values are determined or you'll miss out on some valuable nuggets.

Fourth, the methodology applies to any type of career change which involves new or different responsibilities, including promotions. Most of us are wired to blindly accept promotions without regard for the additional stress which may accompany the promotion.

Fifth, there will likely be stress in any job change; make sure you look at your steady-state stress level versus the "learning curve" stress level.

Your Go-Dos

When faced with your next career decision, follow these five steps to assess your impact of stress and help you decide on your career choice course of action:

Ask a lot of questions about the job and the degree of relationship, personal and work stress entailed in the job. Seek out others who may have done the job before or others who have some inside perspective.
Look at the job responsibilities (both stated and those you derive through interviews) and determine how much stress each of the responsibilities will create for you. Decide on a 1-3 work stress value.
Write down the personal activities and goals you have (i.e. exercise 4x/week, sleep at least 7 hours a night) and determine how the career choice would impact each of the activities and goals. Decide on a 1-3 personal stress value.
Openly discuss with your friends and loved ones what the career choice would mean in terms of impact to relationship time (i.e. not being home for dinner, availability to help with homework) and ask them to decide on a 1-3 relationship stress value.
Derive the increase/decrease in stress for each of the three stress types.
Decide how you're going to factor the impact of stress into your overall decision.
Remember, the real benefit in utilizing the impact of stress methodology is in the discovery process you'll go through to understand relationship, personal, and work stress drivers for different career choices. Be real with yourself as to how a career choice will affect you and those you love.

Lonnie Pacelli is an accomplished author and autism advocate with over 30 years experience in leadership and project management at Accenture, Microsoft, and Consetta Group. See books, articles, keynotes, and self-study seminars at http://www.lonniepacelli.com

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Lonnie_Pacelli/16297



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9359733

How to Channel Anger Within & Be Massively Productive

Anger, desire for revenge and rage are very strong emotions. These emotions, if used for bad, can do harm and cause damage in your life on a multitude of levels. After all, "holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die" (Buddha). However, since these emotions are so powerful and full of energy, if channeled toward goals, dreams and the greater good, can soar you toward success.

Here Are 3 Ways to Take Your Anger Within & Be Massively Productive

Refocus Back To you
When we are raging mad at someone who hurt us, we spend our days and nights ruminating on that person and everything they did to hurt us. The focus is on them. Instead, shift the focus back to you. Take a step back and think about what you want out of your life. Set goals for yourself and begin taking steps to achieve those goals right away, today. The motivation and energy you can muster up in a body full of adrenaline can be intense and can propel you forward. Forget baby steps, this anger channeled toward being productive instead of vengeful can send you leaping toward your goals.
Get Physical
Now, more than ever, is a time where you need to feel sexy, handsome, beautiful and full of life. Nothing can make you feel as confident in your own skin like physical activity. Exercise allows you to minimize negative emotions and release endorphins (those feel-good neurotransmitters). Take the power of anger to run faster and lift more weight. As you work out, imagine your body transforming into what you want it to become. Exercise can also reduce stress, so that when you leave the gym, you are more mentally clear to make strong, solid decisions in a time that might be chaotic and upsetting.
Learn More About Yourself
During a time of anger and rage a man/woman shows their true character. It is how you handle these strong emotions that shows your true colors and level of integrity. It is okay to be angry, it is a normal emotion but the key is how you release that emotion and what you can take from a trying time in life. To really gain self-awareness, journal. You can say all those nasty things you want to say, in your journal. In your journal, you can voice all your concerns and even how pains in your past might be coming out now in your adult years. Write about your emotions, decisions and thoughts. Writing things out does two things at the very least. First, it allows you to vent and get emotions out safely. This can help minimize nightmares and panic attacks that can stem from a buildup of emotions. Second, it allows you to note patterns of thoughts and behaviors. Eventually, this pain and these emotions will pass. You can then look back at your writings and note patterns and better understand what led you to certain emotions, actions and reactions. You can use your past journal entries as a tool to help you be more self-aware in the present and to help you react differently moving forward.
Dr. Jaime is your go to life coach who will hold you accountable and push you to succeed. She is the host of The Dr. Jaime Show and author of The SuperWoman's Guide to Super Fulfillment which is published in over 10 countries over 4 continents. Dr. Jaime is a motivational speaker and the go to keynote for companies. She has been featured nationally, both on TV and other major media outlets, for her expertise in work life balance & goal setting. Find out more about Dr Jaime at http://www.drjaimek.com Subscribe to The Dr Jaime Show on all your favorite podcast apps.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jaime_Kulaga/1038479



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9944851

Gabby Bernstein’s mantra meditation for tough times

Corporate Rat Race: 7 Good Reasons To Escape

Is your 9-to-5 feeling more like a 9-to-9 (24/7) in your life? Where your work is almost constantly on your mind, even when you don't try to think about it? Do you hate your job, but fear for financial uncertainty is far too great to risk making a move? A life of purpose doesn't have to be a fantasy or a cliché saying that only applies to the lucky few. Just anyone can escape the corporate rat race, assuming you believe in what you want and you believe in your worth!

The first step to quitting the rat race is realising that it is possible and that a better life is worth taking the risk; you just need to prepare yourself for the move. Here are some reasons why:

Stress

Of course, this is the most obvious reason to leave the perpetual corporate rat race. Your entire day is stressful, with few exceptions. You might even like what you do at your job, but if your mind is constantly thinking about what you'd rather be doing or who you'd rather be working with, for example, that job will always be a dead-end in your journey in life.

Health

Along with your mental health, stress will affect your physical health, even if it doesn't appear obvious on the outside. If your job is making you exhausted every day you're on the clock, this is a reason for you to start looking right now for a new career, one that isn't sacrificing your health for your success. America is the most overworked society in the world, by every major metric, you are not alone in this!

Excess

When your job is forcing you in one direction of conformity, it is only natural that people will seek to balance that out with self-healing in forms of pleasure and entertainment. There is no judgement here, however, it is far too common for these things to turn into vices that overcompensate the imbalance in life, leading to a life in excess that is hard to get out of.

Time

Part of the reason why people feel like they are locked in this perpetual 'corporate rat race' is that no matter how hard they try or how efficient they are, there never seems to be enough time in the day. Deadlines dictate your state of mind, even when you're away from work. This type of bi-polar relationship with time is not healthy, and it is also abnormal, despite what the rat race industry tells us.

Purpose

Money is important, no one is going to argue that it isn't, but it isn't everything. When you first enter the corporate workforce, money brings you so much happiness, it becomes enough of a motivator to ignore the rat race and normalize it as a 'good' life. As you get older and you stay running forward, while in the same place you were years ago, the money isn't as good as it was before. You finally realise that you are working harder and trading more and more time for money. Whether due to a weaker economy or a bigger appetite for success, the purpose of your job has outlived itself, and now you need to move onto something better. Suddenly, you don't feel fulfilled anymore with the corporate rat race lifestyle.

Cycles

This ties into purpose, where the very definition of a 'rat race' is that there is no ending. You'll just keep completing work with the same feedback loops until you're stuck in a zombie-like trance for 8 hours each day. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to break this cycle.

Confidence

Last, but not least is the real reason why you should begin to think of alternatives to this rate race when you know that you are better and have far much worth than this job that is pulling you down. You probably spend hours thinking about other careers or ways to start up your own business, but don't trivialize those ideas and throw them away. Sit down and figure out the steps you need to take to make them a reality.

When the student is ready, the teacher will always appear. The moment you realize your innate beauty, your capacity and your worth are far more than what is being printed as your hourly rate on your bi-weekly or monthly payslips, the doors will open to a world of opportunities for you to embrace.

I am Madevi Andee and I have embraced the opportunities presented by the Digital Economy to change my lifestyle from a corporate rat race to that of freedom: Money and Time Freedom, where I work on my own terms, doing things I love and with people I love. It all starts with the creation of money because money creates choices and choices lead to freedom. If like me, you believe that freedom cannot be earned in a corporate rate race, then join me on my odyssey and learn the system that has created the first step to my freedom.

Let's connect [http://www.brainbeautyandmoney.com/digital-system/]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Madevi_Andee/2272835



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9394262

Why You're So Stressed (And What You Can Do About It)

Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist?

This is actually a trick question, as few of us are completely optimistic or completely pessimistic. That said, most people do tend to lean more heavily towards one over the other.

It is difficult to get good research data on the percentages, as people who lean towards pessimism do not usually admit they are pessimists. The most recent study I could find was in 2013 and in it, it listed 50% of Americans identifying as being optimists, which seems (rather ironically) fitting considering the standard way many of us evaluate whether someone is an optimist or a pessimist is whether they see the glass as half-full or half-empty

The problem is, that of the remaining 50%, only 4% identified themselves as pessimists. I know this is not very scientific, but I see a lot more Debbie-Downers walking around where I live than 4%. I'm guessing a majority of the 43% who identified as "somewhere in-between" are more heavily pessimistic, as an optimistic person would likely have jumped at the chance to identify themselves as an optimist. Conversely, a pessimistic person would likely be fearful of jumping to that conclusion, but also fearful of labeling themselves a pessimist as well.

You'd be hard pressed to come up with many great historical leaders or inventors who were pessimists (I cannot think of any off the top of my head). But that does not mean we do not need pessimists too. If leaders surround themselves solely with other optimists they are likely to miss the changing currents around them. Some professions lend themselves to pessimism such as CPA's, Safety Engineers and Actuaries just to name a few.

Pessimists tend to think of themselves as realistic and most things in life need a balance of realists and dreamers. I consider myself an optimistic realist. My clients rely on me to "Keep it real," and at the same time help them find inventive ways to better themselves.

It's imperative that I give each client things that help them get from where they are now, to where they want to be in the future. It would be overly optimistic to teach an 11-year old who is still learning their craft, the same things I teach professionals, who are already at the top of theirs.

Although pessimists serve a purpose in society, I cannot think of a good reason anyone would rather be one. I can however, think of several advantages of being an optimist over a pessimist. Optimists tend to be upbeat, have higher goals, and achieve more than pessimists. They are also considerably less likely to give up in the face of challenges or negative forces they experience.

Many people are of the mistaken belief that you are born either an optimist or a pessimist. I have found that each and every one of us have the ability to become an optimist, if we make that choice. It's really no different than someone with poor eyesight. They can choose to live with their bad eyesight or they can get lenses that enable them to see clearly. Pessimists can similarly learn to view things through a corrective lens in their mind and change their entire outlook.

It's rare to run across a peak performer who is not an optimist at heart. I have worked with clients that came to me with a pessimistic bent and the ones who were willing to work to change their outlook were the ones who achieved at higher levels. I believe there is a degree of self-fulfilling prophecy at work in being an optimist as well.

As Norman Cousins eloquently stated, "Optimism doesn't wait on facts. It deals with prospects. Pessimism is a waste of time." The bottom line is, no mater where you fall on the Pessimism/Optimism scale you have the power to change it.

You can follow Sam on Twitter @SuperTaoInc

POSTED IN THE MIND SIDE BLOG

Sam Obitz is a leader in the use and development of mental skills that help you achieve peak performance. Visit The Mind Side Blog at http://supertao.com/category/the-mind-side-blog/

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sam_Obitz/796527



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10230752

If You Don't LEARN How to DEAL With STRESS, Life Will CONSUME You! | #Be...

Coronavirus: Panic or Poise