What would you say when you are under work pressure, "stressed out and
frantic1" or "challenged and energized"? There is very little
physiological2 difference between the two, says a growing
contingent3 of experts who claim works stress has an upside. These experts believe that stress can strengthen you or tear you down. In most cases, you can choose.
Give stress a good name why recent work stress -- it's an
indicator4 that your career is advancing. Think of a heavy work load as an exciting opportunity to push yourself, learn new skills and show your
mettle5. Complaining
depletes6 your energy; instead greet an
overloaded7 day with optimism. Tell yourself, "This is a challenge i am capable of handling."
Put it in perspective sometimes it's impossible to talk about the positive side of stress -- say your computer crashes and you lose valuable work -- but you can moderate your reaction. Rate your
distress8 on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being mild irratation and 10 extreme panic or anger. Now, rank the importance of the situation from 1 ( a notice ) to 10 ( you're fired ). If your distress ranks higher than the seriousness of the situation, ask yourself: Is this something i will remember in four years, four months, four days? Then downshift your response accordingly, saving your emotinal energy for disasters.