In my previous two articles, I discussed how it’s not events in your life that cause stress, but it’s your interpretation of those events that determines whether you will suffer from stress or not. So, understanding your thinking habits is critical to mastering your stress.
In future articles, I will discuss specific methods of taking charge of your stress-producing thinking patterns, but I want to provide you, here, with information about how such thinking can quickly lead to physical and emotional deterioration and give you an advisor success story.
In each subsequent article, I shall give an advisor success story and an action plan for you to implement and overcome stressors in your job and life.
Anxiety and stress are not only perfectly natural reactions to stressors, but have been built into our DNA since we lived in caves. This physiological (“fight or flight”) nervous system has evolved in order for us to respond to life-threatening emergencies, such as being approached by a predator.
The problem for 21st century humans is that non-life threatening situations turn on the exact same system. For the financial advisor, it could be a sharp market downturn, a dire economic prediction, the need to prospect for new clients or having to answer a phone call from an angry client. Regardless of the potential stressor, if we interpret the situation in a negative way, we switch on the “fight or flight” nervous system. The system was evolved to switch on for a few minutes at a time in order to help us escape the danger, but most of us switch it on for days and weeks, because of persistent stressors and the negative thinking patterns that result. This impacts the immune system in an unfortunate way and leads directly to the development of acute and chronic illnesses.
A Financial Advisor Case Study
Deborah loved her job as a financial advisor, but she believed that all of the stress involved in her job was inevitable and went “with the territory.” She suffered from stress whenever the market tanked and even more so when she faced the necessity for prospecting for new clients. It was almost as if a wave of insecurity would wash over her, filling her with the dread of anticipated rejection. Knowing that prospecting for new clients was critical for the success of her practice, she trudged on, but with limited success.
She also felt overwhelmed when her manager piled more paperwork onto her “plate,” yet, she was hesitant to complain.