Stress and the effects of stress are all part of modern life, however sometimes we confuse being busy with being stressed. Sometimes there isn't enough time in the day to complete the routine tasks of life and we have to prioritize what we do in both work and our domestic lives. When we perform minor tasks at the expense of the more important ones we get an increasing sense of urgency and inability to do them. Our mind tells us that we have done the wrong things. Stress however is not caused by doing the wrong things; stress is caused by our perception of the time available to do the things we have to do.
A definition used for pilots in their training regarding stress is as follows;
Stress is the difference between the perceived task and our perceived ability to perform the task.
You will see that this definition does not include any reference to the importance of what we do. For instance the reason that traffic jams are so stressful to some people is that the perceived task i.e. getting to work on time versus the ability to get there on time is in conflict and out of one's control.
However if each morning you were escorted to work by a police car with its flashing lights and sirens going then your perceived ability to get to work on time would be fairly high and therefore your stress levels would come down.
Anyone who suffers from a fear of flying suffers considerable stress because the task of getting on a plane and flying away compared with ability to perform that task is almost non-existent. This causes very high levels of stress, which affect many aspects of our cognitive (thinking) processes. The first step to reduce stress levels it is to set realizable outcomes. You should set your expectations to something that you can realistically achieve, and then when you enjoy success you can raise your expectations gradually until you meet your required outcome.
Clearly if you have a fear of flying, you cannot expect to fly as happily as the crew do. Perhaps it would be more realistic to expect to be very anxious generally. Why not concentrate on a small part of the flight where your anxiety can be reduced. Perhaps your first task might be to walk around in the cabin or to let go of the armrests for a few moments; start with something simple, congratulate yourself, then set new targets.
The mind is open to all sorts of negative thoughts when stressed. A fearful flyer not only suffers the overall stress of flying but also to additional stresses like turbulence or being in an enclosed space. If you change your perceived task, youll increase your chances of your perceived ability to do it. Then you will be in a better state to apply a working strategy. And a working strategy should be your immediate goal.
Here is something that could help.
If you aim to climb a mountain, then you will succeed only when you reach the summit. If however you aim to get as far up the mountain as you can, then each time you try youll succeed. This is not a question of setting low standards or aspirations its setting realistic ones. After all overcoming your fear is not a competition, theres no winning or losing there is only succeeding.
And success breeds success.
Has anybody here ever been stuck in traffic for a frustratingly long time? Put up your hand if you have.
Oooh! Don’t you just hate that? And some people don’t mind showing us how much they hate it. We call it road rage.
Has anybody ever waited in a ticket lineup or a checkout lineup for a frustratingly long time? Let me see those hands.
Believe it or not, some people don’t like that either. We call it lineup rage.
Has anybody ever been stuck waiting in a doctor’s office for a frustratingly long time? Let me see those hands.
And then you see somebody suddenly jump up and tear his hair out and scream, “Let me out. I’ve been here three hours. Three days. Three months!" Well, I really should appologize. I didn’t mean to scare your kids. I was just demonstrating waiting room rage.
Let me tell you a story about the Lwungwa River Valley – that’s in Africa, you know. The dry season there gets very dry. My throat is getting dry just thinking about it. The Lwangwa River stops rushing. It slows to a trickle. Finally, it stops flowing. And all that are left are pools of water, here and there.
One by one, the animals head to higher ground. To forest cover. To other water holes. Anywhere they can find food or drink. Just like we will all do late. Did I say all the animals? Not all. Not the hippos.
The hippos stay in their river at it slows to a stream. They stay in the stream as it turns into pools. They stay in the pools as they shrink into puddles. As the puddles shrink, the hippos get more crowded. As the hippos get more crowded, they get surly. Cranky. Grumpy. They gnash their teeth. They poke at each other. They pick fights. It’s river rage!
Has anyone ever come face to face with a raging hippopotamus? Don’t be shy. Go ahead, put up your hands. Sure, when we’re young – I’m sure you all remember this as I do – we’re taught that they’re slow, cute, and cuddly. They might even be pink or purple and do those dances in tutus like in Fabntasia. But in the real world they have teeth the size of your head. They can run faster than anyone in this room. And they weight upwards of 5,000 pounds. I mean, they are BIG! If you’re ever at a cocktail party and a hippopotamus starts, you know, flirting with you, whatever you do, do not let him sit on your lap.
Rage is all the rage these days. Road rage. Lineup rage. Waiting-room rage. Even river rage. You may also have heard of parking lot rage, elevator rage and airplane rage. What gives? Is the world getting angrier or just more crowded?
Both. It’s a fact that as our space and time grow increasingly crowded, our stress levels rise.
When it comes to space, we are cramming more people into more crowded cities, elevators, airplanes, stores. Our patience diminishes. Our good will diminishes. Our tolerance diminishes. Has anyone noticed they place the chairs at conferences – you noticed! -- so close together that even skinny people get to know each other well. My theory is that the hotels are trying to develop their own niche rage market: conference seating rage.
Let’s look at our schedules. What are we trying to do? We’re trying to see how many items we can squeeze onto our “to do" list, and how many activities we can cram into a day. And the stress, where does it go? Right up there, exactly.
I want to share this one little thought with you. We are in the process of moving, so we actually have two homes. Stress that builds in my stacked concrete box apartment they call a condo, I can’t get rid of. It sticks. I can’t shake it off. It won’t go. It sticks. When I’m at my farm house just a few miles south of here, surrounded by grass and trees, it’s amazing how quickly I can just excommunicate the stress. Can I say that? Excommunicate? Why not?
OK. What have we learned today? Three lessons, so please take note.
Number one, don’t let your space get too crowded.
Number two, don’t let your schedule get too crowded.
Number three, and this is the most important of all, don’t ever, ever let a hippopotamus sit on your lap.
Both Chris James & David Leonhardt, The Happy Guy are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris James has sinced written about articles on various topics from Psychology, Yoga and Psychology. Having spent 27 years as a BA Pilot I became the youngest person in the UK to hold a flying instructors licence and became the youngest person to be the Chief Instructor of a CAA approved flying school. If you have a fear of flying check out. Chris James's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.
David Leonhardt, The Happy Guy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Psychology. David Leonhardt is the Happy Guy, motivational speaker and author of "Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness". Sign up for your free "Daily Dose of Happiness" at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html, or visi. David Leonhardt, The Happy Guy's top article generates over 720 views. to your Favourites.