Why the Stress?

So why is everyone so stressed out about work? We could all avoid loads of stress and love our jobs more if we actively chose to create cultures that motivate us to take a breath, process and think before we make decisions. This morning after I drank my hot lemon water and did my meditation - loving this new morning routine btw - I checked my calendar to find no meetings, which is very rare. My shoulders instantly relaxed, a break from video conferencing was welcome, but when my brain tried to relax, I insisted on bracing myself for the unexpected big hairy problems that are always just one Slack message away from ruining your day! A peaceful, nice morning can be swept right out from under you when a coworker decides to alert you to a customer problem or a mistake that was made...if you let it*. Reactivity is a root cause of chaos in the workplace. Conscious decisions are more effective than quick reactions. If people react with fear and drama, there will be a lot of fear and drama. If you are able to first perceive situations as just that - a situation - a moment that will pass in time - your decision making will come from a more peaceful, collected place. This is why meditation and yoga are such amazing training tools for the workplace. If a situation never becomes nuclear, less people will be impacted by stressful experiences that create workplace trauma in their wake. The moments I dread at work involve extensive games of telephone, many email chains, lots of anecdotal and emotional information being passed around, people being left out of the bigger conversation... These situations often also create inclusion issues. Don't just move fast and break things. Move consciously and fix things. 

xoxo maddymo