Leadership Motivation - Stress.

What is stress? You know its a funny thing, because for a lot of people they simply don't understand it. If you have too much stress, like in your workplace or in relationships the experiences causes distress in your body. By this I mean in the brain, in the organs in the body, the fight or flight reflex kicks in and wears downs these parts of the body as the body tries to rectify itself and regain a sense of homeostasis. If you are stressed for a long period of time with no relief, it could lead to exhaustion and overall burn out.

On the other hand there is eustress, which is a good stress, a euphoric stress you experience when you laugh when you are being entertained. When you are perhaps meditating or doing some deep breathing activity. When you find some sense of relaxation. So their's distress and there's eustress.

Its funny you know I found myself in a situation floating down the river, and experiencing tremendous chest pain when I was only 33 years old. The explanation was quite simple when I went to visit the cardiologist. He said, you are trying to do just too much. At the time, he was leading a very extreme lifestyle where I was trying to fit more and more into my day. I guess what dawned on my was the notion that we all have limits. What I had to learn that this pain I was experiencing was a signal for me to change the way in which I was doing things. So I employed more relaxation, I worked out that I needed to invest more energising or rejuvenation practices so that I could sustain a greater level of performance. So I had to find some balance in my life.

It was through and experience I had with the CEO of a large organisation in Australia, and he has described to me that his key to his success, as first and executive and then the CEO of an Organisation, was to implement and follow a sustainable practice. One where he practiced work-life balance yes he worked hard, but also he played well. And when he played his playing included listening to music, going out and seeking different events which entertained him. And by doing this he found he was able to rejuvenate his energy, through certain practices so that when he got back in the work place he found he could still perform and perform well under pressure.

So stress is a necessary part of life. Its just knowing how much stress creates distress in our body and its when we understand this and understand where those boundaries are, we are able to engage, in a much more fulfilling and complete life.

Total word count: 463 words.