Categories for Stress management
I write about the principles of leadership that I either observe in successful business owners and managers, or what I read in books and articles on leadership. So it makes sense that I should try to apply these principles, as well. Here I am, waiting in an airport, delayed due to weather in Chicago (where I am hoping to go). So I am trying to apply a couple of principles I frequently hear about — be prepared, and be willing to adjust to life’s circumstances. I have traveled enough over the past several years to know that there is always... Continue reading...
February 17, 2008 5:32 pm
Ok. Confession time. I am feeling overwhelmed. It seems like I have more work (and other life tasks) to do than I have time and mental (or emotional) energy. [I can hear the thoughts now: “Physician (or psychologist), heal thyself!”] Let me explain the reasons for my current condition (from my perspective, that is; my wife will probably have other factors she would add). I believe my “overwhelmedness” is a combination of both: (a) lifestyle, and (b) a convergence of circumstances. On the lifestyle side, I tend to run at a fast pace, pack my days and weeks quite full,... Continue reading...
A week ago, I had the privilege of attending a music festival with my son, Daniel. Although the festival is several days long (and many people go and camp out, playing music all night long), we were only able to go for one long day. For those who are not familiar with it, the Walnut Valley Festival can sound like a small-scale gathering of country hicks — it is located in Winfield, KS, a small community one hour’s drive outside of Wichita, KS. But the festival has been the home to the national acoustic guitar flat picking championships for 30 years,... Continue reading...
September 23, 2007 3:59 pm
This week I have been asked to present to my local Chamber of Commerce on “Work / Life Balance”. After thinking about it for a while, I chose to use the Superball as an object lesson. Now for those of you who are young and don’t know much about the Superball, let me fill you in. The Superball was marketed by Wham-O (who also sold Hula hoops in the early 60’s, and the Frisbee in the 70’s). Introduced in the summer of 1965, by that Christmas they had sold 7 million balls (for 98 cents each). What was amazing about... Continue reading...
September 13, 2007 8:26 am
Contentment. This is one character quality you don’t hear much about these days. In fact, being content is really a countercultural concept. I haven’t recently (or ever, actually) heard a commercial say, “Keep what you have. Fix it up a little or just make it work a while longer. You don’t need to go buy something new.” We are bombarded with messages to not be content — we need the newest or latest version (“new and improved”) of xyz, or we really can’t be happy in our current modest home, or we are enticed to take the family on fairly... Continue reading...
Summer is obviously the traditional time for family vacations, due to the fact that students (and many educational instructors) have the summer off of school. As a result, the family vacation is on many individuals’ minds. Having just returned from my own vacation, I thought I would share some thoughts that may help your vacation be a profitable one for you, personally and professionally (although there probably will be associated financial costs!) Vacate. The root of vacation is “vacate†– meaning, to leave. Although it can be costly, if at all possible, I would encourage you to get away from... Continue reading...
“I’m so frustrated with . . . ” is a frequent complaint in our daily lives. I hear it from clients, from friends, from family members, and I say it fairly frequently. One of the challenges with understanding and managing “frustration” is that it can have more than one meaning. So, often it is important to clarify what people mean when they say “I’m frustrated.” Probably the more basic, historic meaning is to feel blocked or being unable to achieve a goal you are pursuing. Thus, I get frustrated if I am trying to get a task done but the... Continue reading...
I have often been asked to speak on managing stress, work & life balance, and similar topics. But I have never been asked to speak about (and I have never seen an article on) rest. This is one of those postings that clearly comes from my personal experience (and is one of those topics I am giving myself the liberty to write about even though I clearly haven’t integrated the concept fully into my life.) Obviously, the topic arises from my own experience of being tired recently. I have been travelling more than I am used to, and the past... Continue reading...
Ok. We are in the holiday season. And now we will be bombarded with articles about the stress of the holidays — family gatherings, shopping, managing our finances, holiday parties and concerts to attend, traveling, and so forth. And it is true — the Christmas season and New Year’s tend to create more stress for us. But the problem I have with many of the articles — whether they are in the newspaper, on msn.com’s homepage, in Time or USA Today, is that they are either so fluffy (“keep track of what you spendâ€) or they are so repetitive and... Continue reading...
December 5, 2006 11:56 am
