License No. 0451271 Innovative Solutions. Enduring Principles. Finding Balance... Coping Effectively With Stress and Change. Kathy Espinoza, MBA, MS, CPE,

License No. 0451271 Innovative Solutions. Enduring

Principles.

“Finding Balance...

Coping Effectively With Stress and Change.”

“Finding Balance...

Coping Effectively With Stress and Change.”

Kathy Kathy Espinoza, Espinoza, MBA, MS, CPE, MBA, MS, CPE, CIECIE


Principles.

Can You Juggle?• Working 8 to 5• Deadlines• Family• Children, children, children• School/college payments• Personal Health (Weight, blood

pressure, cholesterol, etc.)• Bills (House payment, car

payments, insurance, “Target/Stater’s”, etc.)


Principles.

Stress Today is Unique• On-going Economy

– Uncertainty

• 2 Working Parents• Single Parents• Sandwich Stress

– Caught between children & elder parents

• Balancing work, home and health– Paper out… get ready to write!


Principles.

Handling the Day to Day Stressors of Life

• What IS stress to you?– What sets you over the edge?


Principles.

Why Worry About Stress?

• Stress takes a toll on the body• Look at each new President!

• Stress and the aging process– Gray hair, wrinkles, etc.

»Stallion to “Old Gray Mare”

– Loss of memory, mental capacity

»Uncharged PDA


Principles.

Symptoms of Stress?

• Headaches• Indigestion• Muscle Pain• Forgetfulness• Sweaty Palms• Sleeplessness• Unhappy

• Fatigue• Loss of Appetite• Excessive

Appetite• Missed Periods• Edgy• Angry• Nervous


Principles.

Stress:

• Outside or Inside?

• Stress, like beauty…


Principles.

How Do People Typically Handle Stress?

• RAGE!!

• Eat!

– Stress eaters

– Stress Non-eaters

• Distorted Thinking Patterns


Principles.

Stress Management 101

• Control• Change only what you can

• Perception• Stress scale 1 to 10• Little gray snake…

• Energy• Physical• Psychological


Principles.

Balancing the Day to Day

Stressors of Life• 5 P’s -– Proper Exercise– Proper Diet

• Eat to live rather than live to eat

– Proper Weight• Feel good, more ‘in control’

– Proper Rest• 60% of working population are sleep

deprived

– Proper Attitude• The quality most predictive of health,

happiness is:– Optimism


Principles.

Handling the Day to Day Stressors of Life

•Some stress is unavoidable, some is not. The trick is to distinguish between the two.

• Put it where it belongs– Is it an emergency?–Can I hand this off?–Can it wait until this afternoon/tomorrow?

–Can I get help?

1 2

3 4


Principles.

Self-Motivation• Inner Drive: Why do some stay motivated and others

not?

– Self-motivation: Inner drive that moves

behavior•What works for me may not work for you•Write it down…

People are like sticks of dynamite;

the power’s on the inside but nothing happens …until the fuse gets lit!


Principles.

Self-Motivation•Find your ‘ONE’

Thing


Principles.

Balancing Fear and Courage

•Courage: …is resistance to fear, mastery of

fear NOT the absence of fear

– When you are afraid, you have two choices

• Do nothing and let fear fester like a cancer

• Identify the person/situation causing you fear

…deal with it immediately


Principles.

Balance is Changing Habits

•Any habits you’d like to change? “We first make our habits,

… and then our habits make us”

~ John Dryden

– Find a calendar• Mark off each day

• Daily actions make habits


Principles.

Balance is Finding Solitude

“True silence is to the spirit~what sleep is to the body…

nourishment and refreshment”

~ William PennNeed for Solitude is seen in

our:MoodsEnergy levelsAbility to think clearlyAbility to act decisively

Charge your emotional battery


Principles.

Focus on Servicing Others

Serving others makes us feel good about ourselves because in our hearts…

we know it’s the right thing to do.

– Have a ‘purposeful’ life – Don’t float•Volunteer – YMCA, Pet centers, Hospice•Open doors for others•Smile more often

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we GIVE.”

~Winston Churchill


Principles.

Balance might mean… Hanging on until the

storm passes Sometimes I get the feeling that the

whole world is against me, but deep down I know that’s not true.

– Perseverance – Patience and Time• Inch by inch, life’s a cinch…

Yard by yard, life is hard

– Take a breath– Make a list of what you need to get done– Start marking them off one at a time

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass It’s about learning how to dance in the rain”

~Unknown


Principles.

Balance means… Living Life Forward

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward.”

~Kierkegaard– WE control our destiny

• From here on…– Stop the blame game and excuses– Take responsibility for your own thoughts, beliefs, decisions and actions

– Rid yourself of all bitterness and grudges

– Anger is like holding a hot coal in your hand, …The only one who gets burned is YOU.


Principles.

Balance means… Living Life in the Present

“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

~Abraham Lincoln

If you found out today that you had cancer• Would you…

– Stop living and waste life?– Create ‘blackberry orphans’?– Watch more sunsets– See the color in the flower petals– BE with the ones you love

• Randy Pausch – “The Last Lecture”


Principles.

Balance means… Living Life in the Present First, I was dying to finish high school and start

college.

And then, I was dying to finish college and start work.

And then, I was dying to marry and have children.

And then, I was dying for my children to grow

old enough so I could go back to work.

And then I was dying to retire.

And now I am dying…

and suddenly, I realized that I forgot to live.


Principles.

“Focus on the critical few and not the insignificant many”

~Jack Welch

You only have ‘so much’ energy…• Keep the ‘one thing’ in mind• More is not always better• Simplify your monthly bills• Simplify the family activities

Balance means Keeping Life Simple


Principles.

Balance means Having an Attitude of

Gratitude “When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for

granted or take things with gratitude”

~Chesterton

Joy and Gratitude go hand in hand

• Energy is zapped when our focus is on what’s wrong instead of what’s right with our lives.

• Don’t dwell on what you have NO control

over

• Focus on what you CAN change


Principles.

Tips for Handling Stress

•Mental Strategies:– Don’t sweat the small stuff– Don’t run misfortunes over

and over in your head– Change your perception

• Stress scale?• Little gray snake?


Principles.


•Physical Strategies:– Take mini-stretch breaks

often– Practice deep breathing– Take a mental vacation

• Favorite photos of kids• Hawaii?• Lake Tahoe?


Principles.


•Life Strategies:– Get up 15 minutes earlier– Limit the TV watching– Don’t “Should” on me!– Positive self-talk– Have a friend– Limit sugar, caffeine &

alcohol


Principles.

Balancing Work and Life

Kathy Espinoza, Kathy Espinoza, MBA, MS, CPE, MBA, MS, CPE,

[email protected]

Documents

License No. 0451271 Innovative Solutions. Enduring Principles. Finding Balance... Coping Effectively With Stress and Change. Kathy Espinoza, MBA, MS, CPE,