#1 Stress Reliever

The #1 Stress Reliever in life is being good at what you do.

I heard this statement expressed last Thursday at a GMA (Greensboro Merchants Association) event I attended. The keynote speaker was Tim Gard, a professional comic and speaker who delivered a presentation on reducing stress in the workplace by developing a comic vision.  

I'm in complete agreement with the sentiment.  I find I'm most stressed when I've branched myself out into areas where I'm not quite sure what I'm doing.  Having a full workload but knowing that you know how to accomplish all that's on your plate isn't anywhere near as stressful as a smaller workload where you feel like you're clearing a new path through the woods.

For example, last year when I was working on the text for my new cat book (details on that to follow soon), I was a basket case. How should I organize it? I didn't know. How should I pair the text with the pictures and illustrations? I didn't know. How should I...

There were a million questions and no clear answers. I was a ball of tension. I didn't just want to do the work. I wanted to do it right. If a similar project came along, I might still tense up on time frame, but the looming stress of the unknown would be gone.

I wonder how many people feel they are good at what they do? I would suspect most, but then why is there so much stress in the workplace? Is it because people are constantly being asked to learn new things? Seems like that's dependant on the job. Or is maybe feeling we have to prove to others that we know what we're doing?

Regardless, I found it an interesting tidbit to pass on to you.

Runner's Update: I thought I had really hurt my left knee. Was in a lot of pain on Saturday and it kept me up most of the night. But the kinks seemed to work themselves out on Sunday and now it feels fine. My back still aches though. It feels like someone took a bat to my lower ribs and shoulder blades. I skipped yoga this morning for fear of re-injury. May try an easy 3-mile jog tomorrow and see how that feels.