Stress can be good!

It's been a funny old day ... I started off feeling in control, I had a couple of fantastic networking meetings, and things were panning out as I'd hoped. Brilliant!

Then I got a call that rattled my cage a bit. I got off the phone feeling stressed, and despite telling myself that everything was OK I still felt anxious and had that nagging feeling in the back of my mind. You know the one, the voice that won't let you relax.

If I reminisce back to my pre-coaching days I would have turned into a Well of Worry - over-analysing everything, doubting myself, and wondering what I could do to make the nagging go away. Thankfully things are far easier these days!

Equipped with my 'coaching toolkit' (my mind!) I sat down and asked myself:-

• What is the anxiety and stress telling me?

It's purpose wasn't to make me feel bad, but to provide a valuable warning signal.

For me it was a wake up call to remind me that I hadn't done all the preparation I needed to for a particular event. The phone conversation had hit a nerve because unconsiously I knew there was more work to be done, and the stress was my 'alarm bell' saying "Faye - get on with it!".

So what did I do? I worked hard, I did all the necessary preparation I knew I had to do, and I got a plan of action in place. And what did I get? A relaxed mind again. I got to turn off my mental-alarm and go back to the sanctury of a peaceful headspace!

So next time you get stressed, sit down for a minute, and get some clarity. What is the stress telling you? Find out what the problem is, then work out how to solve it. At a time when logic often bypasses us, focus on a simple process for a happy head!