Self Induced Stress
I always consider myself a big picture sort of person. Much of my stress is purely self induced. When I am carrying out purchasing duties, clerical duties or teaching duties, I constantly assess how my actions effect the company as a whole. I also see that that many of my colleagues are much more talented than I in the classroom, and I do my best to make sure that they have what is needed for them to do their job as stress free as possible.
Robert, That sounds like a tough spot. The good news is that you seem to have a great understanding of who you are and what guides your behavior. That's the best place to start.
Dr. Melissa Read
personally I will intentionally avoid devulging all the info that I do know so I will get passed up on a project that I don't have time for Nice stress reliever
I find that many times I will take on a new project that I really don't have time for. I have trouble getting past the belief that I am the only one that can get things done(ego). I try to take on everything that is asked of me causing myself way too much stress and then feeling like I have no way out. I have to constantly remind myself to make better choices and let others use there skills. Darn ego!
Steven, Yes, much of our stress comes from internal forces. Our perception and interpretation of stressful events often drives reality. Knowing that can sometimes help.
Dr. Melissa Read
I agree, a lot of the stress that we endure is self induced. We fail to realize that there are things that we can control and things that we cannot.
When we learn to not stress over the things we have no control over it reduces the level of stress in our life.
I think alot of times, stress arises from a source of having no control. There are just somethings we have no control over. We have the ability to interpret those things either positively or negatively. We stress ourselves when we consider the process and allow fear and anxiety to set in. It's hard; I'm learning not to stress over things I can't control.
I am a relatively new instructor, and every class I teach requires me to plan from scratch, so I've got that stress/panic of feeling unprepared going on constantly. I have been getting up early in the morning to work on lesson plans and grading, teaching a class in the afternoon, grabbing a quick bite to eat and teaching again from 6 - 10 in the evenings. Recently, I realized I was starting to feel bitter because I never have any time for myself. I have been gaining weight, feeling isolated. My mom came over and basically forced me away from my laptop/PowerPoint presentation to have an hour-long lunch with her before my class. I spent less time planning the lesson, but ultimately, I had a great class, and I felt SO MUCH BETTER at the end of the day. Certainly, you don't want to come in underprepared, but there has to be some happy medium.
I do the same... i am constantly stressing myself out more then what i need to be.
I can relate, Trevor. I think many of us are guilty of causing or making the situation more than it is-creating more stress for ourselves. Or we come up with scenarios that don't even exist!
