PERSONAL SPECIAL..... COOL IN A CRISIS

COOL IN A CRISIS





Venus Williams was stuck in a controversy when she was playing at Wimbledon, but she kept her focus. Check out how these pointers can help you too

When it comes to work, we all have to leave our per sonal problems at the door and get on with the job. But during a private crisis, while we may be at work physically, mentally we're reliving the issue and this could distract us from the task at hand. While it may not be such a problem on a usual day, what if you have an important presentation or contract to consider?
Disaster. Here's how to be productive even when you're going through a rollercoaster of emotions.

Self-compassion

Stop beating yourself up about something that has already happened .You're not going to be able to change the situation, but learning to deal with it can help. The first step is to put yourself in the shoes of your loved ones. What advice would you give them?
Would you tell them to let the incident eat away at them or would you advise them to put it out of their mind?
Practice some care on yourself as well. Look at the situation from the eyes of someone who loves you.

Share your worries

If you can't get negative or worrying feelings out of your mind, talk to a loved one about it. Just sharing your feelings will help you get things in perspective. I f you feel you're not acting like yourself at work, speak to a trusted colleague or your immediate senior. Explain the situation to them (you can limit the details ­ if it's too personal, it's best to be vague) so that they are on the same page as you, can give you some space and help ease your load.

Live in the moment

Will worrying and thinking about what happened make it better? Probably not. But neither will bottling it up and pretending nothing happened. So, live in the moment and do one task at a time. And if you must, give yourself emotional breaks, where you ponder on the issue for a few minutes before tackling your real job again. Stay away from social media or the person who has caused you the stress during those breaks as those can be triggers to relive the drama all over again.

Escape route

While we're not on board with running away from your problems, a break will do wonders for your mood. Look at your working hours as an escape from your situation, when you are focussed only on your job. Work usually isn't personal or too emotional. Use your office as your calm in the storm.

Get positive

When going through a personal crisis, most of us resort to not-so-healthy means of distracting ourselves. Whether it's with fast food, alcohol, other substances or even people, using negative ways to change the channel in your mind is not the best way to deal with the problem. However, using positive ways to distract yourself can help when going through a difficult time. Exercise, throw yourself into a new project or start a new hobby. It can also help you put things in perspective.

glynda alves

ET21JUL17