— To follow is a bullet of wisdom on leadership. It comes from Tom’s rifle, named Shot, who has seen it all. You’ll get the drift by clicking Blog in the menu above. —
ACUTE STRESS TRIGGERS an automatic hormonal response—your general adaptation reflex. Fight well—sans sensibility, perhaps—but vigorously, or flee—recklessly, perhaps—but passionately. Fight or flight. (Some like to toss in “freeze,” which is, to me, another way of saying you don’t’ fight.)
What we are really talking about is stress reaction. Leaders, you know all about stress. It comes with the territory. You won’t do well just living with it, even if it is more chronic, than acute. What’s the alternative? How about the relaxation response? Here’s the deal: Stressors occur regularly, all day, every day. You mustn’t incur constant hormonal arousal. It’s not healthy. For relief, relax your mind. Extreme stress may require guided imagery or meditation. For sure, a counterbalancing diet of relaxing activity helps. Try exercise, hobbies, variety in activities, genuine relationships, and compelling causes outside of work. The thing to fight or flee is stress.