The Healing Power of Stress at Work: Part 2

"The character of your existence is determined by the energies to which you connect yourself." Hua Hu Ching

If you really want to turn your work stress around you are going to have to evaluate your values and see how often they are on a direct collision course with your actions. If time with your family is your primary value, what are you doing spending weekends at the office? If your physical health is your primary value, why are you working eighteen hours days and catching quickie naps while you drive home? The stress therapist, Roger Mellot, once said that people leave jobs that are no longer serving them when the value of their sanity overtakes their need for a paycheck. The good news is that you do not have to choose between wealth and health; you can have both as long as you are clear about your needs and stay aware of the ways you go about meeting them. Once you shift from serving your ego to serving your inner self you will find that many of the work related stressors simply have no more meaning for you.

Unless you are willing to confront the habitual thoughts that are in conflict with what you truly value, you will most likely never experience the healing power of stress. It would be insane to think that you can subject yourself to ritualistic doses of bad stress forty hours a week and still feel like your life is anything other than drudgery, covered up by an occasional weekend’s worth of "down time." If, instead, you choose to take your work stress head on, I assure you that the rest of your life will benefit from the ripple effect. When you start to see your work environment for the playground that it really is, you might find yourself earning a true living, and happy hours will now take place at home rather than at the local watering hole. Commit to being truly self-employed—working in your own best interest—and watch as your self-worth begins to rise in ways that your stock portfolio never will.