Why taking action creates success

The power of stress in the learning process

We all face stressful situations throughout our lives, ranging from minor annoyances like traffic jams to more serious worries, such as a loved one's grave illness. No matter what the cause, stress floods your body with hormones. Your heart pounds, your breathing speeds up, and your muscles tense.

This so-called "stress response" is a normal reaction to threatening situations, honed in our "reactive brain" or the oldest part of our brain. This response was helpful to us to survive threats like an animal attack or a flood. Today, we rarely face these physical dangers, but challenging situations in daily life can set off the stress response. We can't avoid all sources of stress in our lives, nor would we want to.

The tension of stress can help us when we are learning something new. Often times this is when we come to the realization that what we thought we could do, is simply not what we know how to do. Often times in order for us to move out of this situation we need to either gain some direction from others or another learning source such as You Tube.

When I tried to repair our washing machine this lesson came to the front of my mind. There I was the entire front door assembly laid out on our laundry room floor and then it came. The complete freak out! "I have no idea how to put this thing back together!" I feverishly picked up my cell phone and went straight to You Tube. After watching 4 different videos, I was fairly certain that I knew how to correct the problem. Part ordered... problem solved!

However that instant when I was in deep stress about the washing machine, I used my stress to propelled me into action. This caused a quick assessment of my resources. This type of stress is in fact healthy for us.

However, if stress continues over a long amount of time, it truly can have impacts on our over all health. So we need to consider ways in which we can reduce this type of stress.

One way is to invoke the "relaxation response," through a technique first developed in the 1970s at Harvard Medical School by cardiologist Dr. Herbert Benson, editor of the Harvard Medical School Special Health Report Stress Management: Approaches for preventing and reducing stress. The relaxation response is the opposite of the stress response. It's a state of profound rest that can be elicited in many ways. With regular practice, you create a well of calm to dip into as the need arises.

Other ideas for reducing stress

“The relaxation response is the opposite of the stress response. It's a state of profound rest that can be elicited in many ways..”

• Deep breathing

• Massage

• Meditation

• Tai chi

• Yoga

• Cooking

• Music and art therapy

• Aromatherapy

Regardless of the option you choose to reduce your stress, it is imperative to have a plan in place. Without one your leaving your overall health to chance. Working with a coach to define ways and establishing accountability to support your overall health can be an effective use of your coaching conversations. #Productivity #Stress #Stressmanagementplan

All the best,

Beth