Executive Coach, Lifelong learner, Dad, Bass player, Outdoor Enthusiast, Former Apple Worldwide Director of Finance.
[DSD] The #1 stress reliever you never thought of
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Stress is my pet peeve. It’s not the feeling. Feeling stressed is a normal part of life. It’s how people accept stress instead of doing this one thing to manage their stress. From a neuroscience standpoint, stress is activation of your fight-or-flight nervous system. It’s a normal human reaction to a perceived threat. The problem isn’t the emotional response. That’s normal and uncontrollable. The problem is how you describe stress. Most people use stress almost like a badge of honor, or maybe an excuse. How often do you say: “I’m stressed”? Here’s the issue. That statement undercuts your agency to do anything. Why? Because stress is a generic term, simply meaning you’re emotionally activated. The best way to deal with stress is: Stop being powerless and take control. And the only way to take control is if you’re specific about why you’re stressed. Is it pressure from the boss? Time pressure? A mistake? Fear of making a mistake? Be specific. Once you know the cause of your stress, you can do something about it. Address it, change your mindset, or imagine how you’d handle the worst case. Your language is powerful. Don’t use general phrases like “I’m stressed” which undercut your power to manage it. That’s the subject of this week’s podcast. Speak Like a Leader: 10 ways to boost your confidence & credibility when speaking. Listen now to see which one you can use this week to amplify your leadership voice. To taking control of your stress, P.S. YouTube is my most popular podcast service, but you can find me on Apple, Spotify, or most other players. Listen now! |
Rusty Gaillard
Executive Coach, Lifelong learner, Dad, Bass player, Outdoor Enthusiast, Former Apple Worldwide Director of Finance.
The clock is ticking for my remaining days in California. I’m headed to Florida at the end of summer. My son graduated high school and is leaving the house. And we decided it was time. Time for a new chapter. Aside from geography and the census count in our house, We aren’t yet sure what other changes there will be. But we know change will come. A new chapter is a new beginning: an opportunity to start with a clean slate. It begs questions like: - what is important to you - how are you...
We’ve been sold a lie. Work hard. Keep your head down. Follow the plan. Delay gratification. And somewhere down the line, you’ll get to enjoy life. That approach might get you a steady paycheck, but it won’t get you fulfillment. I believed this lie for the first 25 years of my career. Until a 20-minute conversation shifted everything. It helped me see that I had never once asked the most important question in my career: What do I want? Not: * What am I qualified to do? * What’s the next...
I finished last in every high school track meet. It hurt my ego. I struggled to face my teammates with my head high. Of course I didn’t change my training regimen… I blamed the coach for putting me in the wrong race: 2-miles for goodness sake! I stuck it out, but I promptly quit when the season ended. Fast forward 30 years. My son started running high school cross country and track… favoring the 2-mile race. He was not a natural talent, finishing in the slower half of the pack each race. But...