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Prepare to Deal with Despair and Stress

  • Jun 21, 2021
  • 3 min read

Written by: Henrik Pettersson, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

"Without humor, I would have been dead a long time ago." US President Abraham Lincoln noted stress as an enemy of strong performance. Partly a paradox because as it gets things done, it also makes us secrete norepinephrine which has the following effects:

  • That we should flee.

  • That we should fight.

  • Or play dead.

Stress increases our ability to concentrate and gives us strength. Despite this, we interpret the feeling as negative. Stress does not help us solve our tasks but only leaves us helpless. We worry about things unnecessarily. We twist and turn every conceivable scenario. Plus or minus. If we decide ourselves for plus, we choose the strong way. If we decide on a minus, we take the weaker one. That's life!


You get what you deserve.


As you sow, you reap. Life gives us what we deserve. It's just a matter of time. And to ask the right questions.


When the children say they need 50 dollars, it is seldom enough for us to open our wallets. But if they instead ask what they would need to do to earn fifty dollars, we begin to think.


The right kind of questions builds value. What do you need to do to earn what you want? Now it´s possible to see what kind of effort you are willing to make to get what you want. We all have needs, but very few have the ability — to first ask what they need to do — to deserve it.


The solution is to ask for the code needed — for the door with opportunities should be opened. You can't go out into the field and harvest without sowing, right?


You can’t lose 10 kg without doing the job required. You cannot request a raise without being willing to add value. You can’t expect care from your partner without earning it. If you want something, you must first be willing to give. Like sitting in front of the fireplace and saying: give me warmth, and then I’ll cut the wood. You have to do the job first.


Taking care of yourself is important. Otherwise, you can’t be of any use to others. So it’s self-leadership on a high level. But if you will be truly successful, you need to look up and ask yourself how you can add more value to more people?


If you want to gain confidence in the big things, you should also show it in the small things. To deliver regardless of the level, like becoming that extraordinary person who takes and gets responsibility for more and bigger things.


A story from the Bible is about a merchant who is going on a journey and calls in three of his servants.


He gives one of the servants a talent, the other three, and the third five talents. Then, he asks them to take care of the talents in the best way until he returns.


The one who got a talent goes away and buries it in a secret place. The one who got three talents does business and earns three more. The one who got five also doubled the money.


When the merchant came back and called in the three servants to review the results, the one who got five talents stepped forward and said he had invested the money and earned five more. Well done, says the merchant. The one who got three says that he too has invested his talents and has three more to give to his master. Well done, says the merchant. The one who only got one talent did not dare to risk, so he dug down his coin. The merchant then says: Give your talent to the servant with the 5 talents. It's one thing to fail, but you have not even tried.


Sen's moral: If you do not sow, you can not reap.

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Henrik Pettersson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

Since 2004, Henrik has been working as a coach, educator, and motivational speaker around Europe. Life is about growth. The challenge to growth is to gain boldness to handle our fears and vulnerability. To strengthen your spine — to be able to manage your challenges towards stronger results. Life’s tough at times, and the formula for gaining more boldness, and dig deep into, is Faith – Energy – Focus. His new book is built on the three pillars above and is called: program yourself to success. Henrik is frequently hired by large companies like Volvo, H&M, and Avis.

 
 

This article is published in collaboration with Brainz Magazine’s network of global experts, carefully selected to share real, valuable insights.

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