Are You Your Worst Stressor?

A stressor is what causes stress. It's something that is a threat to you. It can be a physical condition like misplacing your keys. It can be a mental condition like a thought about how irritated a co-worker makes you. Many of us like to blame stress on someone else ... you know ... "if so-and-so would just leave me alone everything would be fine!" Here's a stress wake-up call: MOST OF THE TIME WE'RE OUR WORST STRESSOR!


Before you get yourself all worked up, let me explain.


Janna was angry because her boss said she lacked assertive communication skills and should consider going to an up-coming seminar off-site. Janna refused to go, but she worried every time she had a conversation with a co-worker that her boss was in the background keeping score. She thought about learning more about being assertive, but she didn't want to give her boss the satisfaction of being right. At her annual appraisal, she received a "less than satisfactory" score in the area of communication. After the meeting she found a quiet place and began to replay what her boss said. As the tears fell, Janna felt even worse because she knew it was her own fault.


Stress is not always the other person's fault. Sometimes, rather than take responsibility for own own lives, we choose to blame an outside source for our troubles. Janna's work-related stress was mainly caused by her stubbornness. She allowed the anger she felt toward her boss to keep her from doing what she needed to do -- learn how to become more assertive and consequently create more value for her role within her organization.


So how can you avoid being your worst stressor? Easy! Take responsibility for yourself. Take responsibility for your life and what happens in your life.

Until next time,

The Purpose Professor
"Teaching people how to succeed on purpose."
Life On Purpose LLC
www.lifeonpurposellc.com
"Life with no purpose is no life at all!"