The “price of fear”

According to cultural anthropologist László Bence Tarr, who regularly holds courses on stress management, it is a mistake to think that stress is an unavoidable feature of work, because stress comes from the working person and not work itself. In his experience, stress is becoming an increasingly common problem for employees. This is why I would like you to read this article. “Stress” is a general term which might be used in place of a number of very different emotions. In its negative form called distress, it can mean fear, anger, sorrow, or desperation. In its positive form, it can mean excitement, exhilaration, a will to fight, or joy. However, in regard of workplaces, stress is always used in a negative context. When we feel unable to live up to expectations, we tend to say that we feel stressful, rather than admit that we are afraid of failure, or that we don’t get along with our boss. Stress is generally a substitute word for our real problem. “Stressful situation” is another frequently used expression, as if there were situations which are automatically and equally stressful for everybody. Jumping out of aircraft is a perfectly everyday situation for some people, while others feel incredible stress doing the same thing. Stress comes from the fact that such activities are usually outside of our “comfort zones”. As long as we stick to things we are accustomed to doing, we feel no stress, but a single step in unknown territory can result in serious stress. However, stress factors in our workplaces are only indirect causes of the stress we feel. The real reasons lie much deeper. For example, our childhood conditioning, like “Be perfect!” or “Make an effort!” or “Hurry up!” can be real reasons causing stress. People conditioned in their childhood to “be perfect” are likely to become perfectionists in adulthood. They waste too much time on working out less significant details and cannot admit it when they are unable to do something. For them, even minor challenges can turn into a source of stress. In reality, there aren’t more sources of stress in a work environment than anywhere else. It is a question of what we perceive as a stressful or hazardous situation. When our self-esteem and self confidence is OK, we don’t experience negative stress in our workplace. Instead, we see problematic tasks or people as challenges. Though many people agree with the above, they still don’t know how to be more self-assured- The best advice is: Do something! Then you’ll see if it works or not. Most people who feel stressful suffer from a feeling of being powerless to change anything in their lives. Regular exercise of some kind is always useful, regardless whether it is tai-chi, or yoga or other some other relaxation technique. We should also know that nothing ever happens without our approval. Life is the ability to change and the most we can do is let change happen.