Work-Related Stress: How to Handle It Like a Champion

Many of my clients are dealing with intense  work-related stress. For instance, a while ago, a woman asked me how to avoid burnout. She was in a leadership position in her company and feeling overwhelmed with work.

Her question reminded me of the friend of someone I know---a musician who has performed on stage with big, famous bands.

Over the years, this person has played in front of millions of people. If you’ve never been a performer, you might don’t know that it’s an intense experience to be the focus for so many people.

This also means that energetically, a super-large crowd is so much more taxing than a small one.

It’s hard for me to imagine what it must feel like to have that much pressure on your shoulders—and there’s not a lot that can prepare someone for this level of success.

That’s the challenge my friend’s friend was facing at some point in his career. Many people in his situation turn to drugs to modulate their energy and handle the stress of being so publicly visible. While this coping mechanism might help them to continue performing, it unfortunately often also ends up destroying them.

Given all this, what did this musician choose? Did he pick the path of drugs and potential self-destruction? Or did he decide to walk away from immense success to preserve his health and well-being?

Before telling you about his fate, I want to point out that self-care is essential to any type of work. Without self-care, productivity eventually suffers.

For instance, the careers of many incredibly talented musicians have been cut short by their premature deaths.

Even though the situation is less dire for someone like my client, many people in her shoes are also at risk of burnout. And, of course, this could seriously impair their health, relationships, and career.

So, what did the musician decide to do?

The musician realized that if he wanted to continue to perform in front of large crowds, he needed to find a way to handle the challenges that came with it. His choice basically came down to

1. attempting to deal with the intensity of the situation through drugs, or
   
   
2. consciously learning how to manage intense energy and pressure.
   
   

Thanks to a dedicated yoga practice, the musician could continue to play big shows, without destroying himself in the process. Because he chose to focus on self-care, he’ll likely be around for a long time.

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Now, the first thing I recommended to my client who was struggling with work-related stress was to spend some time with self-care. While this is an ongoing process, here are a few, simple steps you can use if you’d like to do the same:

• STEP ONE: Pull out your calendar.
  
  It doesn't matter if your calendar is in a digital or in a physical format.
  
  
  

• STEP TWO: Decide what you’d like to do for self-care within the next week.
  
  Would you like to get a massage? Take a walk in the woods? Meditate? Take a nice bath?
  
  Example: “Hmm, I’m noticing how tense my shoulders are because I’ve been sitting at my desk so much. I’d really like a massage. That should help me feel better.”
  
  
  

• STEP THREE: Estimate how long this act of self-care will take you and schedule it into your calendar.
  
  If you notice that you don’t have the time for what you’d like to do, find a scaled-down version instead and schedule that into your calendar.
  
  Example: “So, I’d really like to get a 90-minute massage. But with my in-laws visiting and with all the demands at work, there’s no way I could get that done next week.
  
  So, what could I do instead? Oh, I just remembered that the massage place near my work offers 15-minute shoulder massages. I could do that during my lunch break tomorrow. That would work.”
  
  
  

• STEP FOUR: Follow through on your self-care appointment.
  
  If something comes up that prevents you from doing it, reschedule to the next possible time.
  
  Example: “Oh, I just realized that I don’t have time for the shoulder massage during my lunch break tomorrow. I promised Nadine I’d help her with her presentation. Let’s see, I could do Friday at noon instead. I’ll call the massage place and ask to reschedule.”

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a rock star, a young professional, or a middle-aged entrepreneur, without taking care of yourself your personal and professional life will eventually suffer.

By investing in your own well-being, you make it much more likely that you’ll have a happy, long and productive career. You can start today, by scheduling your first self-care appointment.