How Stress Can Fuel Your Performance (Instead of Slowing You Down)

When stress gets to be too much, it can undercut our performance and slow us down.

And a certain amount of stress is inevitable with demanding workloads, balancing work and personal time, dealing with a difficult boss or colleague, or the pressure and self-doubt that can creep up when encounter something new. These can lead to feeling overwhelmed, anxious or frustrated.

While stress may be inevitable, the effects of it, and how you view and respond to what’s going on around you is not. You have control over this part.

And if you want to change your situation, you first have to change your reality and the lens through which you see your world. Our thinking drives our behaviours, which drive our results.

The difference between one person thriving and showing up as the best version of themselves in the face of challenges, and another person often feeling overwhelmed or frustrated (and not showing up at their best), is how they view and respond to what’s going on around them.

And this is not about perfection or always needing to be “the best” — it’s about more accurately assessing what’s going on and responding in a better way. As humans we tend to lean too far to the negative side and we can benefit from a more positive and resilient outlook.

It’s about being less fazed by the stress you do face and, when a bigger challenge or setback does happen (and it will), you are able to remain calm and bounce back stronger and more quickly to get better results.

When managed well, stress and adversity can build mental toughness, deepen relationships, strengthen priorities and a give a sense of meaning.

Stress can instead be a motivator and enhance your performance and success, rather than undercutting your performance and slowing you down.

And there is a ton of research and science in the field of positive psychology and neuroscience that proves that we can have a significant impact on such things as performance, engagement, promotion, relationships, confidence and productivity — by shifting our thinking and behaviors to be more positive and resilient (regardless of our circumstance).

You too can make the shift from feeling stressed to thriving at work, and being at your best so that you can fuel your performance, bring out the best in others, and simply, enjoy your days more.

And dealing with stress well, no matter what’s going on or your challenge, is a crucial skill for all leaders and professionals.

Here’s what to do next…

CLICK HERE to download your copy of the Be At Your Best Roadmap.

All the best,

What Next?

You can sign up for Stacey's masterclass, The Confident "No" here.

Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.