Stress

Sometimes when we talk about stress it seems as if we do it with the thought that our goal should be to eliminate all stress.  That isn't true.  Research demonstrates that we need some stress in our lives to help motivate and push us, but when it reaches unhealthy levels then it causes us to shut down and creates more problems than we can manage effectively.

Below is the Yerkes-Dodson Curve which demonstrates the impact of stress on performance.

As you can seen, too little stress (left side) means that you are under stimulated leading to boredom, fatigue, furstration, disinterest, univolved and overall dissatisfaction.  None of that sounds good.

The other extreme of too much stress (right side) is also not appealing because on that end of the continuum you are over stimulated leading to ineffective problem solving, exhaustion, illness, low self-esteem, control/ passivity issues and overall dissatisfaction.

The sweet spot is in the middle where you have "just enough" stress.  You are at a point where there is optimal stimulation leading to good problem solving, inspiration and creativity, feelings of vitatility, confidence in your progress, good teamwork, and an overall feeling of satisfaction.

It's interesting to think about where you fall on this scale at different times of the year and how it is helping and hurting you.  But the key is not just knowing where you are, but figuring out how to move yourself up or down as needed so that you can stay in that target zone.

Perhaps that means you need to set some new goals and challenges for yourself to move you up a little on the stress level pushing yourself physically or mentally to accomplish something new.  Or if you need to back down, working to be patient with yourself and practicing some of the coping strategies to help yourself manage the stress level more effectively so that you can get back to a healthier level.

The reality is that when you are overly stressed is often the only time we stop to pause and think about stress and that isn't really the best time to try to make practice skills that will lead to changes.  So now, during the summer, spend some time reflecting on yourself and what helps you to feel "in the zone" and what sends you over the top and then work to help yourself move forward and backwards.  Recognizing the power that you have to help control where you are on the stress continuum is important and will pay off in the long run.