George’s Unimportant/Changeable Stressors
• Running errands on the way home from the office.
• Volunteering to take on extra projects at the office.
• Working in the office to finish paperwork before going home.
George’s Unimportant/Unchangeable Stressors
• Dealing with bad weather during his commute to work.
• Being stuck in slow traffic.
• Comparing his book of business to a colleague’s.
• Having to deal with long lines during his lunch break.
We categorized George’s stressors in a simple table:
Once George looked at all of the stressors impacting him, and categorized them according to these four “types,” it became obvious that he was putting a lot of energy worrying about stressors that were either relatively unimportant or out of his control (unchangeable). Categorizing his stressors made them much more manageable.
First, George stopped worrying about stressors that were unchangeable (boxes 3 and 4). Obviously, if he had no control over them, why fret about them? Second, he pushed the unimportant stressors that were changeable (box 2) to the back burner, because they did not play a major role in his daily life.
By focusing only on what he viewed as his important and changeable stressors, and learning how to manage them, George felt empowered to actually take charge of those stressors, thus eliminating his helpless feelings. In a matter of weeks, George felt much relief and had a renewed sense of control and optimism regarding his career.
Your Action Plan:
• Get a piece of paper and construct a table as I did with George.
• Label the boxes with the four titles listed.
• List all of the stressors that impact you regularly and place them in the appropriate box, according to importance and changeability.
• Focus on eliminating or managing those stressors that you consider to be important and are changeable and put all the others on the back burner. For help managing these important and changeable stressors, refer to my book, “The Financial Advisor’s Ultimate Stress Mastery Guide.”
Dr. Jack Singer is a professional psychologist, speaker and a success coach for select financial advisors. He is the author of “The Financial Advisor’s Ultimate Stress Mastery Guide,” which can be ordered in the FA Mag Bookstore, using this link: /book--ultimate-stress-mastery-guide. To learn more about Dr. Jack’s keynote speaking and exclusive coaching services for financial advisors and his unique, referral-generating program for your next Advisor’s Client Appreciation Event, contact Jack at [email protected] and read more at http://www.funspeaker.com.