I have a lot of first-hand experience with stress. I am, by nature, a pretty laid-back person, but if something important needs to be done or if something needs my immediate attention, then I can become a tightly wrapped ball of elastic bands, just waiting to snap, unravel or shoot in different directions. I’m also ruled by emotion, so matters of the heart affect me deeply.
During my years of working in the fast-paced world of TV news, stress had an even bigger impact on my life. Constant deadlines, the need to “win” the story, to get the best live shot location, to get the first interview, and to beat the competition, was ever-present. Ensuring the story was told accurately, that the voices on all sides were being heard, that our TV equipment worked properly, and that the journalists reporting the story remained safe, were all in a day’s work. But the pressures took a slow and steady toll, which, coupled with me having two small sons, both still in diapers, eventually led to unmanageable stress levels. So learning to cope with stress quickly became a reality for me. Me — who I thought was invincible; Me — who I thought was cool as a cucumber; Me — who juggled 3 things at once, because doing one thing at a time just wasn’t fast-paced enough; THAT ME had to learn to SLOW THINGS DOWN! And once I slowed down, once I allowed myself some breathing room, once I redefined my understanding of “doing a good job” — that was when I realized that incorporating just a few things into my life could mean the difference between burning out and chilling out.