Get a Life, Hold the Stress

by Sean on February 28, 2003 |

Tags: Ant

Last night I attended a talk on stress management - the goal of which is to get people to where they don’t need to go to talks on stress management.

Dr. Leonard Mees got out of a medicine a few years ago to become a teacher. Why? Because he began to feel that it was more important to help people understand that it was not the medical profession that was in control of whether or not people are healthy - it’s up to the individual person and the choices that person makes.

Mees also wrote a book on this, called Get a Life, America!. His talk drew from the book, his experiences, and what’s he’s learned from others he’s encountered.

Here’s some stuff from my notes on his stress-management tips:

How can you better manage stress?

Be aware: Stop what you’re doing. Look around. Listen to yourself and to what’s around you. Ask: “Am I stressed?”
Remember that stress is perception, not event.
Remember choice. We choose perception; our attitude in any given situation is up to us.
Laugh. Read a joke, think about something funny you saw on TV last night, whatever. But don’t forget humor.

Optimal performance beats peak performance. Mees drew a bell curve. At the top of the curve he slashed in a line, that he called peak performance. Especially in US society, this is where we’re always told we should be: all our senses, perceptions, abilities, attention, etc., are at their maximum threshold. However, anything that pushes us beyond that line leads us into decline: flameout and burnout. On the less-stressed side of the curve, Mees drew another line, that he called “optimal performance”. The difference? If you are pushed beyond the OP line, you can still handle situations constructively and without risk of burnout, making for a healthier person who is overall more effective.

Take an hour to think. Could be an hour a month, an hour a week, an hour a day, whenever you can squeeze in a solid hour, just sit down, alone, and think about your life. Bring some paper along too, or a tape recorder, and record your thoughts, your worries, your concerns, your ideas - your life.

Frustrated? On a sheet of paper, write down everything that’s frustrating you. Then crush it into a mangled ball, and throw it away. Feeling better?

Dr. Mees was brought down to Eugene by the Z Team, Rich & Jo-Ann Zebrowski of Prudential Preferred Properties, as part of an “Enrichment Series”. My thanks to the Z’s for putting this on - I learned a great deal, and I hope everyone else there got a lot out of Dr. Mees talk.

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Comments

Mary

March 4, 2003

Yes, I am feeling better, much better.

Thanks for the post, Anthony.

O’k, “peak” performance is going over and above actualizing while “optimal” performance is reaching potential. Is that it?

Just ponder the benefits when traveling!

Ant

March 4, 2003

Peak is more you’re just in front of the red line - about to blow if there’s anything else put on you. Optimal was a few shades back: still performing strong, but not as intensely, and with a bit more “wiggle room” in your life, schedule, responsibilities, etc.

And traveling, I think, is where that balance becomes even more important - but I wonder if harder to maintain?

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