A 3-Step Process to Break a Cycle of Frustration, Stress, and Fighting at Work
Typical sources of conflict
- Incompetent boss
- Passive-aggressive colleague
- Resource-hoarding peer
Rather than focus on these external factors, focus on your contributions to your stress.
- Constant challenges (Insufficient resources, moving goalposts)
- Toxic emotions
- Stress While acute stress improves performance on routine, well-rehearsed tasks, chronic stress damages complex thinking, reasoning, and social skills. Ability to process information, remain flexible to new ideas are compromised. Start thinking in oversimplistic terms.
Steps to eliminate frustration/stress
- Become aware of your feelings and reactions to stress – Identify situations that trigger your stress
- Consciously manage your emotions – Manage negative feelings, stop yourself from lashing out
- Don’t view people as threats
Mindfulness practices
- yoga
- meditation
- deep breathing
Scheduled time for self-reflection
- reflect on what went well and what didn’t
- don’t fixate on what you could have done differentlyµµµµ
- reserve 20 minutes each week
Practice empathy
- role-play what is the other person thinking about
- how is that person different of similar to my views
- what can i do to make others feel better about me