Stress Less. Achieve More.
Simple Ways to Turn Pressure into a Positive Force in Your Life
Author:
Aimee Bernstein
ISBN:
9780814433836
Format:
Paper or Softback
Price:
$17.95
Overview
Stop FIGHTING all the pressure and learn to USE it.
With greater workplace demands comes greater stress—and it's taking a
toll on our productivity and well-being.
The standard recommendations are to exercise, meditate, eat better. But
who has time for yoga poses amid nonstop meetings and pressing
deadlines? Stress reduction becomes one more thing to do!
Executive coach and psychotherapist Aimee Bernstein offers a more
effective and realistic approach: embrace the pressure. See it as an
energy source. Tap into its flow to accomplish more while feeling calm
and centered. It's a counterintuitive message that frenzied
professionals can actually use.
Stress Less. Achieve More. delivers relief for the overwhelmed.
Part training manual, part spiritual guide, the book uncovers a total
mental/physical/emotional formula to:
Stop reacting defensively • Retrain natural responses to stress triggers
• Resolve conflicts harmoniously • Energize fatigued teammates • Relax
in difficult situations
In today's overbooked world, pressure is almost impossible to avoid. But
with the tips, techniques, and exercises in Stress Less. Achieve More. ,
you can turn it into your ally—and thrive under even the most demanding
circumstances.
About the Author
AIMEE BERNSTEIN, president of Open Mind Adventures, is a change
accelerator and coach focused on leadership and personal development.
Her clients have included executives from Dolce & Gabanna, The Ritz
Carlton, Microsoft, NASA, Intel, and others.
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Review Quotes
"Anyone adept in yoga, aikido, and, indeed, in any of the awareness
disciplines will find her narrative reassuring and reinforcing.? --
Booklist
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Cover Copy
Pressure. You're surrounded by it. From bosses, colleagues, and
customers; from family and friends; from the daily demands of work,
home, and life; and don't forget the pressure you put on yourself.
A reality of everyday life, pressure can't realistically be eliminated
altogether. But the good news is that you can succeed under all kinds of
pressure—if you develop the skills and mindset to handle it better, and
even to turn it into an ally.
Stress Less. Achieve More. is your guide to higher performance in
every facet of your work and life. This book will fundamentally change
the way you perceive and react to stressful circumstances, from sudden
events to ongoing situations. You'll learn about your own physical,
mental, emotional, and spiritual responses to stress and how to develop
a new, more constructive relationship with pressure. Author Aimee
Bernstein reveals how to:
• Stop reacting defensively—and take back your power
• Deal with demanding bosses and co-workers without getting down
• Control your temper and stay calm—even if you're surrounded by triggers
• Create reasonable boundaries that give you more control of your time
and energy
• Resolve conflicts among others, and help your team de-stress
Stress Less. Achieve More. equips you with timeless mind-body
practices to keep you grounded and centered, and to increase your energy
to accept opportunities, embrace the challenges that come with them, and
do outstanding things!
Aimee Bernstein is President of Open Mind Adventures, a Southeast
Florida—based coaching, consulting, and training company whose clients
have included Dolce & Gabbana, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and The
Port of Singapore Authority. She is also a licensed psychotherapist with
35 years of experience helping clients integrate the mind, body, and
spirit toward more empowerment, success, and fulfillment in both
business and everyday life.
Visit her at: stresslessachievemore.com
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Excerpt
INTRODUCTION: MAKE FRIENDS WITH PRESSURE--Following the Clues
The next message you need is always right where you are.
—Ram Dass, American spiritual leader and author
It's Humanitarian Day at the United Nations. As the seats in the General Assembly
fill up, the excitement is palpable. Onto the stage steps Beyonc?,
dressed in an elegant long white sequined dress. With the symbol of the
United Nations behind her, she stops center stage and waits for the
music to begin. The pressure must be enormous, yet she is so centered
and upright, she doesn't display it. She begins to sing "I Was Here,?
a song that encourages people to use their lives for the common good.
Behind her, a video shows people from around the world. For a moment her
hand rests on her heart. The camera immediately pans to members of the
audience, who are clearly touched by her presence and words.
The music builds; her energy intensifies, embracing the far reaches of
the hall. Her arm naturally rises to align with her center and then sweeps
across her body in a semicircle. Behind her, a video of rescue efforts plays;
the emotion builds, then the audience rises. Beyonc? arches her
back, lifting her arms, chest, and head as if empowered by a force from
above. She bends her knees, and as she straightens, I can see that she
is deeply grounded. Her voice becomes more compelling as her body
movements emphasize her words. When she is done, she stands erect, fully
present and quiet, seemingly undisturbed by the magnitude of energy that
has just pulsated through her. I watch this video countless times, each
time spotting the clues to how she befriends pressure, which might
otherwise create stress, and I know that I have witnessed a master.
Although few of us achieve such proficiency, life provides us with clues
to teach us how to use pressure by pointing the way to an ideal state in
which our mind/body/energy system is open and aligned with the larger
energy field that nurtures and sustains us. No one, even scientists,
knows exactly what energy is; however, for our purposes I define it as
an electromagnetic vibration that composes and connects all life by
transmitting information. We can't always perceive energy, but it is
always there, and when the personal and universal energy fields unite,
the feeling is extraordinary—inspiring, empowering, confidence-building,
and peaceful. In these moments the energy that was pressing on us
becomes the fuel that uplifts, making us feel as big as the challenges
we face. As our decisions and actions reflect our inner state, we lead
and function more effectively and effortlessly. Not only do we
cognitively understand the essence of leadership, we embody it.
To live more consistently in this ideal state, and lead a "stress less?
life, we need to identify and sense/feel the clues and the changes we
need to make. That's what this book is about. Much of the time, however,
we are so engrossed in our life dramas—I was promoted; my boss
micromanages me; I didn't get the account—that we fail to ask the bigger
questions and thus miss the clues. Yet, if you step back and review your
experiences with the detached eye of a researcher, you would notice
certain energetic habits—repetitive tendencies—that run through your
stories. These repetitive tendencies are the ways you typically interact
with energy. For example, you may discover that your fear of being
swallowed up by your team's expectations really results from a
frequent lack of energy coming from you (outflow), which limits your
ability to participate and express yourself fully. Similarly, your
frustration with your boss's autocratic style might stem from an
inability to stand rooted in your own power (as Beyonc? did). If you
could, you would not feel victimized by the boss's need to control.
Energetic habits underline and inform all of our perceptual, emotional,
and behavioral patterns. Change these habits and it is easier and faster
to break free from limiting self-definitions, emotional reactions, and
behaviors. Similarly, by paying attention to when you are high
performing, confident, and happy, you will begin to spot the energetic
habits that align you with the larger energy field. Noticing what works
provides a process that transforms pressure from an enemy into an ally
and makes what is extraordinary seem ordinary.
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Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Make Friends with Pressure: Following the Clues 1
1. Run Deeper, Not Faster: Understanding Pressure from a New Perspective
9
2. Don't Believe Everything You Think: Moving Beyond the
Limitations of Your Personality Type 31
3. You Can't Get There from Not Here: Where Is Your Attention? 55
4. Function from Your Center: Preserving Your Integrity Under Pressure 75
5. When Things Are Bad, Envision Your Best: Extending Your Energy for
High Performance and Creativity 95
6. Size Matters: Becoming as Big as the Job 117
7. Gain Control by Giving It Up: Resolving Conflicts Harmoniously 137
8. Nobody Does It Alone: Taking Your Heart to Work 163
9. Spark Creative Solutions in High-Pressure Situations: Listening Is
More Than Hearing 189
Conclusion: You Reach Your Destiny in Spite of Yourself 215
Resources 225
Notes 229
Index 233
About the Author 241
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