STRESS VS BURNOUT
Prior to owning my own business, I’m not sure I could articulate my work style. There were strengths and weaknesses I had in my previous roles, but now that I’m working on my own, I have become much more intune with self-management skills. How do I get motivated to lead a kick-off call? What steps can I take to keep myself from getting distracted? Ultimately, I have been learning how to be efficient with my time.
What I have also quickly learned is that stress eats up your time. Thinking, pondering, stewing, none of these are efficient uses of time or energy.
Realizing this, I have learned to get out of my own way.
There is not enough time in the day to worry about those things. By becoming familiar with the triggers and behaviors that convert stress into burnout, it is easier to adapt and overcome all the noise.
Kandi Wiens and Annie McKee, both senior fellows at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, co-wrote “Why Some People Get Burned Out and Others Don’t” in the Harvard business review. In it, they advise people to leverage their emotional intelligence and to not be the source of your own stress. They suggest that by thinking too much about future events, a full body response can be caused by the stress the speculation can cause. By staying attuned to the self-inflicted pressures we put upon ourselves and staying outside that non-stop loop of anxiety, it is easier to think critically and creatively to solve issues.
Stress will always be present in business and in life, it is unavoidable, but how it is dealt with can change. Start with a small change, the Ripple way, by limiting (eventually eliminating) the stress you put upon yourself. Trust yourself to deal with the situations as they come and show yourself some love this holiday weekend.