How successful people manage stress

You may think that burning the midnight oil and staying constantly busy are good for your career — but you might be seriously damaging your career — and your health.

It turns out that the vast majority of successful people aren’t that stressed, not because they don’t experience stressful situations, but because they have tools for dealing with and diffusing that stress.

Stress is one of the biggest killers in the developed world and how it negatively affects our careers. Many people thrive on stress and love the buzz that comes with it, but ignore the effect it has on their physical and mental wellbeing. It’s important to realise the dangers of stress in the long-run and take action today…

The dangers of staying stressed

Stress is a major factor in your health. In fact:

• Stress increases your risk of heart disease by 40 percent
• Increases your risk for heart attack by 25 percent
• and increases your risk of stroke by an alarming 50 percent.

Studies have also found that stress is a risk factor for certain types of cancer, and even physically shrinks the size of your brain. (Yikes!)

The cascade of hormones your body releases under stress may make you ready to run from that metaphorical lion that wants to eat you, but it also has the effect of degrading and deteriorating nearly every system of your body, from your gums to your heart.

Add that all up, and stress related ailments cost more than $300 billion in lost productivity and medical bills — more than $100 billion more than the cost of obesity.

How to cool down

If you want to have a great life and career, the key seems to be dealing with stress in a healthy way.

• Often the difference between a fun and challenging situation and a stressful one is simply understanding what’s expected of you. So, the No. 1 way to reduce job-related stress is to have a clear idea of what’s expected of you and manage those expectations.
• Another key difference between successful people who are stressed and those who aren’t? Optimism. Taking an optimistic view of the outcomes of problems — or even just imagining a benign outcome — will make you feel less stressed and more successful.
• If you constantly stress about work after you get home, take the time to make a firm plan of how to deal with problems before you leave the office. That one step will help you leave work at work.
• Automating as many tasks as possible can also help reduce stress. This can also include simple daily decisions such as what to have for lunch or what to wear.

And if you’re working more because you’re worried about money, the research shows it’s not a good trade. A study showed that the increased stress and fatigue of working overtime was not offset by any increase in happiness or wellbeing that might accompany the extra income.

In short, that stress you think you thrive on isn’t worth it in the long run. It could be killing you and your career, and it’s important to address it now, rather than later.

Published in collaboration with LinkedIn

Author: Bernard Marr is a globally recognized expert in strategy, performance management, analytics, KPIs and big data.

Image: A man looks at an electronic board displaying share prices in Tokyo July 8, 2009. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao.