Relax, Already!

There you are, in the heat of the moment at work.    The project deadline is like. . .now. . .but that weekly, useless meeting starts in two minutes. . .and now not just the desk phone is ringing, but so is your mobile.   It is at that very moment that some well-meaning. . .but very misguided soul. . .pops their head in and says something akin to "You know, you would be so much better off if you could just relax. . .!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN. . .RELAX?  I HAVE TEN THOUSAND THINGS TO DO - RELAXING WOULD MAKE IT TEN THOUSAND AND ONE.   I DON'T HAVE TIME TO RELAX."

It was not the time (and timing is everything) for the co-workers comment.   Just telling someone to relax while they are in the midst of it is never a wise idea.  Yet, I find from personal experience that to be relaxed at work  is far superior (and more productive) than  being all tense.   How then can we find that hard-to-find place of being able to move forward with a relaxed mindset?

First of all, realize that you own your state of mind.  Yes, I know co-workers can be treacherous and bosses can be unreasonable and customers can be demanding.   When I'm tense about it - I'm only going through the motions.   When I'm relaxed about it - I'm being far more productive and  strategic and consequently, I am more effective throughout the enterprise.     It may seem contradictory (because relaxation being relaxation - we just expect it to automatically wash over us in a blessing), but you have to make an active choice to relax about what is at hand.  And this choice of relaxation ideally is made before you get into the midst of whatever it is that you have to tackle for the day.

Another thing:   recognize that not everything is your responsibility.    To be clear,  I love it when people own their business and their actions.   It is possible to over-index on this and few things produce stress as quickly as feeling that one must solve every problem in their orbit.   Balance your sense of ownership with what is really someone else's responsibility.

One foot in front of another.   There have been times in my life when it just seems as if everything is demanding my  time or everything is collapsing.   In one of those moments I just told myself - "I'm going to do this as if I'm learning to walk, one foot over the other."    This meant wading into just one issue, getting it done and moving on to the next.    Stress overload appears in front of us like a big black ball - to be effective we need to unravel it one issue at a time.

Let's not confuse relaxation with laziness or less productivity or not caring.     Let's not confuse  flight or fight adrenaline with "being really good."    Let's concentrate more on enjoying work and our co-workers and our lives. . .that's how to be really great.

Like it?  Share it!

My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle