Here Back East

Good Stress

My son-in-law Peter and I were chatting at dinner about how we each deal with stress in our day jobs. Peter is a financial planner and I am a lawyer. Peter offered up that in his mind stress is vital to keeping motivated and sharp. This presented a conundrum as I always felt that practicing law would be more fun without all the stress. But perhaps Peter has it right. A bit of stress—not too much—does keep me alert and on the ball. If the stress is beyond my control, then I guess it can be too much. Peter followed up our conversation with some science from Dr. Raymond Shelton, a noted researcher on the topic of stress:

“Low-level stressors stimulate the production of the brain chemicals called neurotrophins that strengthen connections between neurons. This may be the primary mechanism by which exercise (a physical stressor) helps boost productivity and concentration.”

Of course, too much stress can undermine one’s effort in trying to accomplish anything. So I compartmentalize various pressures into what I can control and what is beyond my limit. Managing expectations is a large part of stress management. Promising more than I am able to deliver is self-created stress. Managing risk limits the boundaries of stress. Outside of the workplace stress also factors into mental health. Social involvement and support of others counter the negative impact of stress, though interpersonal relationships can sometimes become stressful despite one’s best intentions. Here are what I call some rules of life: think before you speak; consider the emotional impact of what you are going to say; be considerate of the feelings of others. Together these are the minimum threshold to having stress-free relationships. I counsel people all the time in my profession and always follow my rules of life—and my “M and M” rule: manage the risk and manage the expectations. I have found over the years it is the recipe for the least amount of trouble and stress…most of the time.