Is it just me or are we people stressing out more and more? I can't seem to remember my father ever mentioning stress until a few years ago (when he was laid off because the company he worked for went belly up...). It seems as though the further we move into the 21st century the more we want to speed up things (
or do we feel we need to because that's the way every one around us is acting?).
There used to be a time (probably before the Industrial Revolution ;-)) when people used to
live to work, nowadays people
work to live. Although the words are the same this means a totally different way of looking at things... doesn't it? This paradigm shift, along with the Industrial Revolution itself and ongoing technical progress has changed, and is continuing to change, the way people deal with everyday issues.
A wise man once said that nowadays people who deliver good results get poor rewards, people who deliver excellent results reap good rewards and it is only the truly outstanding performers that get what they deserve. It's no longer true that we are only in competition with ourselves, thanks to the globalization we have competition all over the globe (not just in our town or province). We have to prove more and more that we can cope with issues and situations better than our colleagues just to stay on top of the game (i.e. stay employed).
Although we don't like to admit it I imagine most of us suffer from stress every once in a while. There are, however, tips and tricks that will reduce the number of stressful situations significantly. If there is one thing I learned from stress: it always works counterproductive... we need to
avoid it at all cost (... now that almost makes avoiding stress sound like something that could produce stress ;-) ...)
Being the type of person I am according to Myers-Briggs (MBTI), that being a very typical INFP, I don't stress out too much. However, because of my natural way of doing things (
i.e. always one second before deadline!!!) there have been numerous situations in the past and the present in which I know I could have avoided feeling the pressure of the deadline by simply
doing things as they come up!
I recently 'discovered' a very helpful little book by David Allen called
Getting Things Done which has changed my life for the better. To all you stressed-out people out there ...
buy the book and implement the suggestions a.s.a.p... I know for a fact that it will reduce your stress significantly.
(This post is part of Middle Zone Musing’s
What I Learned From Stress group project.)
Alleen in België ...
