While reading an article Don’t Choke! How to Perform Well Under Pressure by author David Butcher of ThomasNet News Industry Market Trends, I was reminded of a book I read several years ago Stress for Success, The Proven Program for Transforming Stress into Positive Energy at Work by James E. Loehr.

Many of the lessons from this book are more pertinent today in this economy. What struck me about this book was the positive use of a an energy to improve performance much as with athletes. It was not so much about the elimination of stress but the tools and the techniques to work through the stress and maximize our recovery time between those stressful periods.

As stated in the title of the first chapter, in the corporate world you either perform or you do not achieve. In this economy it is more like you either perform or you go out of business. The reality is that stress is part of life. Physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, it is part of the human condition. To say you just shed it and forget it is denying human nature. The reality is that you need to develop the skills necessary to channel it, getting your head on straight and moving forward with passion and determination.

I am not claiming that it is easy, not at all. It takes a real focus and creating good habits during times of stress as well as during those in between periods. Athletes do it every game. While watching the recent Vikings – Jets game, I watched two quarterbacks who had their moments of stress during the game. It was during those moments on the sideline that really impacted me. Where they sitting on the bench with their heads down or were they actively participating in discussions on the sideline and getting themselves refocused?  Are we using those moments to refocus and re-energize or just dwelling in the stress we just experienced.

There is a lot more to this book than what I have written hear. I highly recommend reading this book.

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