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Understanding your self to reduce stress

By: Dr Jeff Bailey. One of the consistent findings in organizational research is good leaders need to be self-aware. Getting to understand yourself can be a stressful experience. Many people think that psychologists constantly psychoanalyse those around them. This can be painful at parties when people become suspicious of you.
In therapeutic setting, helping patients become self-aware can create stress for them. How many of us really understand our own values, motivations, and drives? When I coach chief executive officers, one of the first things I do to increase their effectiveness in the organization is to help them become self-aware. I work on the assumption that self-awareness increases the capacity to confront, manage and relieve stress. This is particularly important in relationships where one or both parties have limited self-awareness and are unable to negotiate a meaningful communication space.
The concept is referred to in the literature is emotional intelligence and credit goes largely to Daniel Goleman for his work in this area. I believe that your work life and your personal relationships are made more effective through a high degree of emotional intelligence. Leaders with high self intelligence earn more money, have high producing and profitable departments and organizations, and are more successful overall. So my simple argument is become more self-aware and you increase your effectiveness and, probably, your capacity to manage and relieve stress.
People who are able to understand themselves well and adapt well to the emotional demands and social interactions of their work and personal environment are regarded as having high emotional intelligence.
Oddly enough, the feelings of the people around you affect your own emotional state. The brain's limbic system is the area where we can examine moods and emotions. People react to each other's emotions and in meetings, for example, it takes two hours for everyone to share the common mood of the meeting. There is constant interchange of emotionality in the workplace.
A fascinating piece of research suggests the following. Put two people together in a room and monitor their heart rate and blood pressure and you will find within 5 to 10 minutes they are almost identical. And they don't even need to talk to each other. Just sitting together creates a shared physiological reaction.
So we are constantly affecting other people around us by our emotional state. Imagine if you are constantly stressed how this impacts your partner and your work colleagues. You have a responsibility to be self-aware and to understand the impact you have on other people. When people are angry or discontented it affects all of us. There is very little healthy benefit in all of these negative emotions. Stress and tension in the workplace affects all of us negatively.
What is the alternative? If you are happy, self-aware, stress free, and have a positive self-esteem you are likely to be happy in your relationships and happy in the workplace. You will probably be very effective in developing and enjoying healthy relationships. You'll know how to manage and relieve stress and your life will be blessed.
When you consider the elements that make up emotional intelligence, you can see how vital this concept is not only to the workplace but to your relationships, your friendships, your interactions with your children and so on. Typically, five scales are measured: intra-personal; inter-personal; adaptability; stress management; and general mood. When I have measured EI I have been fascinated by the variations in the profile. For example, some people are very high on inter-personal understanding but have almost no idea of who they are themselves. Others are high on inter- and intra-persona dimensions but are not very adaptable nor do they manage stress well. Of course, this variety makes people and the world in general such an exciting and diverse experience for us all.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Psychologist, Dr Jeff, helps stressed patients. Why put up with stress? Learn stress triggers and stress relief now. Click here for the free What is Stress by Dr Jeff. Don't let stress ruin your life for another minute. Get moving - learn how to relieve stress.

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