Stress Management

Friends,

I was reflecting on our talks and thought back to a time in January when I did the talk from my home because I was on my back and I shared a promise that my wife Sheila had made that I was probably stressed out over something and that’s why I was on my back. Stressful situations can sometimes land you with back problems. But stressful situations are something that we can’t get out of. Stress is par for the course, sometimes we can see it coming and sometimes we cannot. We need to respond to it in a good way or else we’ll find ourselves in different situations that we ought not to be in.

I read an article by Dr. Hans Selye MD, a doctor who defines stress as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it.”  Non-specific! We’re not sure how our body is going to respond to the stresses that come our way. Sometimes they work themselves out in back pain, sometimes indigestion, sometimes migraines or various other things, but they always attack our body and our mental status.

Is there a way of handling stress so that we can make it positive? There are people who are writing about how to take stress and use it to motivate. I’m sure all of you come across stressful situations through every day that you face in the corporate world. This person Decker says “where the people own the company or work in the company doing whatever it is that you are called to do, your future depends on your ability to create value, deliver quality and build a reputation of excellence." Whatever we may do, it all boils down to this: do we create value for the company? Are we able to deliver quality products? Do we have a reputation for excellence? In this article which Decker calls ‘Stress That Motivates – Responding Positively to Negative Circumstances’ he says that the key, when you find yourself in a stressful situation, is to look beyond the situation to a point where the stressful situation seems to get better or to go away. “Build in your mind, targets, objectives, pictures of excellence. Every day, put in destinations that you are going to be at, that will help you get out of these stressful situations.

In the Bible, the book of Hebrews, there’s a wonderful line: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” When we are in a stressful situation and we look ahead to a time when the stressful situation will depart from us or work itself out, what we need to have is faith. As we plan a destination, as we plan a different target or goal, as we plan a different scenario, we are sure of this hope and certain of it even though it is not before us visible and tangibly.

The author of the article says how he was reminded of this with his sister-in-law, whose father was an energetic man, lived his life on the go, had goals and definitions of what he was doing and had his life well organized. Even in his 70s, he would balance his own checkbook; do all his own banking, etc. He had 5 children and the whole family comprised of 27, including grandchildren. He was a positive thinker, would call them up every Sunday, and talk to them about their jobs. Then he would talk to the grandchildren and when they got to the 8th or 9th grade, he would tell them that he wanted to sit with them and help them work out a resume. In effect this was like telling the 8th or 9th grader that he saw them as graduating from college and applying for a job.

One day his daughter had to take him to the doctor’s office and the doctor dropped a bombshell on them. He told them that the father was suffering from cancer and had a week or so to live. They went home devastated. The next day she went up to his room with the breakfast tray and saw that he had all the pictures and family albums out and was going through them.  Suddenly she wondered if she could use that situation to give him an extra lease on life. She asked him to plan for his 80th birthday which was about a year away. She asked him to make all the arrangements and her dad took this project to heart. He spent all his time checking airfares, accommodations and he lived another year. Even though he was on oxygen and had to be carried down the stairs, he celebrated his 80th, cracked jokes. All this after the doctor had told him that he had only a week left to live.

We all have stresses. But we all have choices. The key is not to blame and wait but to face the situation. Picture where you want to go and then take that step forward, and then another step and another step. Our enthusiasm will produce positive stress that will push us to perform at our peak.

Dennis Helmsley, the author of Positive Workaholism says, “Assume a positive viewpoint. Rather than saying no one will hire me for this job because I’m too old, a senior applicant can adjust her attitude and say, “I have more experience than anyone else interviewing for this job.” Or rather than saying “No one takes me seriously because I’m too young” a newcomer to the job can say, “Hey, I’m fresh out of school with state of the art skills and I have youth and energy on my side.” Instead of looking at yourself and getting stressed out about where you are and who you are, phrase everything in positive terms and stress becomes an asset and not a liability.

Again Charlotte Sutton, associate professor of Math, says “Stress can create an adrenaline charge” and we need more adrenaline in our lives because we move faster, we’re more effective, we have more energy. A lot of people say that without stress they don’t get very much done.  She says, “Take that stress and turn it into positive energy.”

How are you doing, my friends? Are you in a stressful situation today? Are you thinking to yourself, “I’m going under. I’m beginning to have a debilitating feeling”.  I would say to you ‘Use that stress as a springboard. Use it to turn things around and get going. If you get into a negative stressful situation, sometimes you have to stop, take a step back and see what is it that you have to do to make it positive. Maybe it could be taking a short vacation, spend time with family, get into an exercise regime. But you need to do something.

Bertrand Russell says, “One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terrible important.” It’s not. Your health is important. How you handle your health will be the key.

This morning I want to pray for each one of you on this call. I’m not sure where you are, but maybe you’re going through a stressful situation in your life. Maybe you need wisdom to know what springboard you can use. What mental pictures you can use to be able to see ahead?

God Bless You All.