Business Insight Zone

It’s easy, when everyone seems to be talking about recession / depression / meltdown / catastrophe, to get worried and stay worried. But it’s also unhelpful, at least if you’re looking to cope with the current business climate by taking positive steps to improve your business.

When we succumb to limbic hijack — that is, when the stimulus we take in hijacks our ability to respond cogently — our performance suffers. It’s unavoidable.

What IS avoidable is succumbing to limbic hijack in the first place. If a tiger suddenly runs into the room, okay, you can be forgiven for freaking out. But for our workaday lives? We have lots of choices about the inputs we receive and the ways we react to them.

I’m thinking about this because of an exchange I had with a commenter last month. This is the key part of what he said:

. . . I read the WSJ every day, and the only show channel I watch is CNN. Well, over the past month all of the negative energy that I was getting from these news mediums was starting to take effect in my personal life; I was doing poorly in school, my nerves were getting to me, etc. I decided that this must be because I’m surrounding myself in a constant state of negative. So what did I do? I quit reading the WSJ, did not turn on the TV, and focused on some activities that would help me chill out.

Here’s what I said in turn:

As I’ve earned more experience in my career, I’ve realized the importance of being able to manage your moods. We’re not always going to feel optimistic, energetic, or fired-up — and it’s not a challenge, anyway, to move ahead when we feel that way. The challenge comes on the days when we’re feeling flat and blah — or during the longer spells when we’re feeling stressed or depressed.

This applies very well when we put the stress on ourselves. Try as I might to keep myself on an even keel, I’ve had several occasions to return to a sage comment on another post from last month:

I learned an interesting lesson about crunch time and overwork many years ago. Many times, when it’s past 6, past 7, and you’re pounding away at whatever . . . because it Has To Be Done . . . Stop. Go home. Rest. Think about something else. Pet the cat; walk the dog.

Tomorrow morning you will be rested and the problem will resolve itself relatively quickly. It may be difficult to believe but often, last night’s impossible-to-solve problem untangles in 10 minutes the next morning.

Also, remember, the longer you work without a break, the more brain-fried and inefficient you are. You make more mistakes. When you overwork you’re doing yourself (and your project) a DISservice.

The links below to other posts of mine will tell you that this is a topic to which I’ve returned many times. I keep coming back to it because (1) my own self-induced stresses frustrate me (though I’m getting better), (2) because I keep seeing friends, family, and coworkers struggling with the same challenges, and (3) because I keep finding useful reading to help all of us deal with the issue of managing our moods.

Here are three posts by others that you might find useful if you’re struggling to keep yourself on an even keel in your work:

• Mark McGuinness — How to Maintain Your Enthusiasm When Things Get Tough
• Mark McGuinness — 7 Ways to Stop Worrying When You’re Under Pressure
• Scott Berkun — Your quota of worry and how to shrink it

Now, if you please, tell me:

What are YOUR best methods for managing your moods?

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Related posts:

• Limbic hijacking in the workplace.
• We are not beasts of burden.
• How much are you asking of yourself?
• Self-help and business-help in stressful times.

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Photo of un-worried people by Winstonavich.

Category: Productivity,The business brain