The lead-up to Christmas is an excellent time to get organised. It gives you the opportunity to finesse your CV, interview techniques, update your social presence on LinkedIn and generally set yourself up for success in 2024.
From my conversations with the Melbourne market, I understand a lot of people are feeling apprehensive and generally finding it difficult to remain resilient, having worked hard and achieved goals during the year. There is always a lot going on with the lead-up to Christmas and because of this it can be easy to fall into a negative headspace, however we need to remember to take stock of all we have achieved and gone through in 2023, as I am sure you will positively surprise yourself.
Considering this, I have put together some tips and insights to support you during this season and to generally assist you in your resilience journey.
Recognise your reactions to stress
The first step to overcoming stressors is the ability to identify what your reaction to a stressor is. Your response could be physical and/or behavioural, for example:
Physical
Digestive problems
Nausea/Feeling light-headed
Rashes or flushes
Increased heart rate
Dry mouth
Behavioural
Short-temper
Paranoia
Judgement based on emotion
Procrastinating/Avoidance
Negative thinking patterns
Self-blaming, worrying, only able to see the negative
Nail biting, pacing, ‘word vomit’
The ability to recognize your reaction to stress will allow you to attribute meaning and adjust. To decrease the negative reactions, you will need to adjust the way you perceive a potential stressor. How you foresee an event playing out plays a significant part in the way you react.
Top Tip – You are about to face a stressful situation, be aware of your normal reactions to stress and stop. Take 2 minutes to breath and try to change the conversation. Look at the situation as a challenge, get excited to overcome the situation. This change of outlook will result in an increase of testosterone being released, leading you to feel more determined and ready to tackle the challenge.
Connections
Connecting with others creates resilience. When facing a stressor, we release a chemical called Oxytocin which makes us want to connect with people more. Therefore, when stressed, one of the best ways to combat it is to connect with another person.
Top Tip – When you feel stressed connect with your Charterhouse representative.
Circle of Control
Cognitive hardiness is understood as an individual’s ability to adapt and respond to uncertain and stressful situations through coping strategies. The goal being able to turn a potentially negative situation into a learning experience. There are times when we will face situations that are out of our control. One way of coping with this is to adjust your thinking in line with the below.
Commitment
Commit to a problem-solving approach, be engaged and active in the face of adversity.
Control
Explore new potential options rather than becoming demoralised. You are in charge of your own outcomes.
Challenge
Perceive potentially stressful situations as challenges and opportunities to thrive. Understand that change is natural and occurs continuously throughout our lives.
Top Tip – Assign more meaning to the situations you can control
Attainable Goals
Setting clear attainable goals gives you and the team direction, clear steps, and a focus. A team goal will encourage collaboration, in addition to giving each member a sense of accountability. These goals can be professional or personal. For example, working as a team to cumulatively walk so many steps or run so many km’s etc.
Breathing & Positivity
Focussing on your breathing can have wonderful effects on your well-being and approach to stressors. Try taking a 90 second break every day to focus on your breathing.
Top Tip- Write something down everyday that you are thankful for, happy about or looking forward to.
Reach out to your Charterhouse consultant to discuss how we can support you for success in 2024, or feel free to contact me directly at alice@charterhouse.com.au
