Life Of E's » stress

Diminish Overwhelm – Do More of What Boosts Your Energy (2)

Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:58:43 +0000

As I started saying yesterday, a ‘most excellent’ way for you to diminish overwhelm is to do more of what boosts your energy. So, you may ask, “How Do I Do That?”

I’m sure you won’t be shocked to read that my recommendation for the first thing you have to do is know what it is that gives you energy in each of these categories

People
Events
Tasks
Thoughts
Emotions
Responsibilities
Weather
Places
Activities
Other

Now, answer this question: What/who do you look forward to, anticipate, feel excited about…relative to any or all of the categories listed? Tell the truth to yourself. You know the answers. Actually write this out for yourself.

For example, it is likely that there are people who are your ‘energy people.’ You look forward to seeing them, are excited to see them, and feel better after being around them. Who are your ‘energy people’? Call one of them right now and give yourself a little boost!

I mean it…call him or her right now!

And if not having enough energy is one of the areas that leads to feeling overwhelmed with life – and you would like to be ‘just whelmed,’ then you’re invited to join others (worldwide) who receive Meggin’s weekly emails (free!) at

**I Want to Be Just Whelmed (http://www.JustWhelmed.com)

If you would prefer quick, short weekly tips, then the following site is another place to find suggestions and other tools to support you in your quest for peaceful productivity:

**Top Ten Productivity Tips (http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com)

(c) 2009 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., “The Ph.D. of Productivity”(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!

Failure is a Comma, Not a Period (5)

Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:15:56 +0000

In case you haven’t memorized this yet…’failure is a comma, not a period.’ Lynne Ford

This is the last in our series (unless you all prompt me with more!) Remember, you have have failed before, lived to tell about it, and you will fail again. So, consider this:

5. Some failures are a result of something outside of your control. Best laid plans and all that…The airport you’re supposed to be flying out of is socked in for 24 hours and you miss your son’s dance recital. Your mother falls and breaks a hip. Since you are the only child (or the only responsible child), you miss a couple of key deadlines because you need (and want) to be taking care of your mother’s matters. You can feel like a failure – or recognize that you aren’t. Sometimes life has a way of getting in the way of ’success.’ Focus on the areas that are within your control. Manage those ‘failures.’ All of these “failures” were but a comma in the flow of your life…not a period. Pause and move on.
In your life, you have many opportunities for success and failure. If you would like additional tips, tools, and techniques that you can use to support your successes, then access one or both of the following free resource websites:

**Top Ten Productivity Tips (http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com)

**Articles (http://www.ArticlesbyMeggin.com)

Failure is a Comma, Not a Period (2)

Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:25:59 +0000

As Lynne Ford says, ‘failure is a comma, not a period.’

This is the theme of this series of posts. As you observe the failures that you have experienced (and that you will again) consider the truth of this statement:

2. Some failures are major reliefs. Let’s say you submitted a proposal for a large federal grant – and you weren’t awarded the grant. Outwardly, you might tell people how bummed you are. Inwardly, however, you may be thankful that you didn’t get the grant because of the enormous commitment it was going to take. If you are already managing as much (or more) than is personally sensible and professionally responsible, then it’s a relief when certain grants aren’t funded, particular conference proposals aren’t selected, or committee assignments aren’t procured.

I hope this gives you something to think about. Tomorrow, another thought about ‘failure.’

If you would like additional tips, tools, and techniques that you can use to support your successes, then access one or both of the following free resource websites:

**Top Ten Productivity Tips (http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com)

**Keys to Keeping Chaos at Bay (http://www.KeepingChaosatBay.com)

Toxic Academic Environments – How Persistent Is It?

Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:54:07 +0000

Toxic academic work environments are defined by many attributes including the following:

Persistence

Persistence

A defining aspect of a toxic academic work environment is whether or not the behavior persists. Are you experiencing a situation that even after talking with someone about particular behaviors, attitudes, or something else, the person persists – or it even becomes worse? Not a good sign. If you have done everything you know how to do, i.e., used all the professional and personal skills you have and it’s not making any difference, you can imagine that things are likely to get worse. Check the persistence of ‘misbehavior’ that is upsetting to you and to others. The longer it continues unchecked, the worse it will get. Toxic behavior in the academic work environment does NOT go away by itself.

Please consider what is happening in your department, lab, unit, or college. Check the length of time, persistence, severity, effect on others, and the loss of good people. It’s better to take care of potential problems EARLY. Once a bullying culture has been established, it is VERY difficult to change – and VERY expensive. You can’t afford that and neither can the country.

Sadly, toxicity exists in the academic work environment. If you would like to access a free teleseminar (*Antioxidants for a Toxic Academic Work Environment*) that was hosted by Gina Hiatt of The Academic Ladder (http://www.AcademicLadder.com), feel free to go to http://meggin.com/academicladder.php.

Toxic Academic Environments – What’s the Severity?

Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:53:33 +0000

Toxic academic work environments are defined by many attributes including the following:

Severity

Severity

The severity is a key issue to take a look at. When someone murmurs “Oh gosh, I can’t believe we’ve got this meeting again” or, “Who made her queen?” or similar statements that sometimes people make, that’s not that the end of the world. It’s neither helpful nor necessary, but it’s really not toxic.

But once it becomes severe and the statements are more personal and more intentionally hurtful, that is when people start to feel fearful. They’re afraid for their jobs. They’re afraid for their tenure. They’re afraid for access to people, access to materials or space. When fear and anger are starting to permeate the environment and really become part of the ‘accepted’ culture, that’s when warning signs should be going off – to everyone (including the department chair, dean, etc.) Of course, sometimes they are the ones who are causing the toxicity, right? But that’s a different article.

Toxic Academic Environments – Are You Losing Good People?

Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:49:03 +0000

Toxic academic work environments are defined by many attributes including the following:

Loss of good people

Loss of good people

In a toxic environment, you also start to notice that you’re losing good people. Either you lose them altogether or you keep them physically but you lose them mentally and emotionally. Administrators must pay attention to this. If there’s some sort of unusual turnover in a department or in any other unit, then the administrator ought to be taking a look and wonder (and find out), ‘What is going on and why?”

Toxic Academic Environments – What Effect Is It Having?

Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:45:49 +0000

Toxic academic work environments are defined by many attributes including the following:

Effect on employees, students, public, &/or shareholders

Effect on employees, students, public, &/or shareholders

Another defining aspect is the effect that the rudeness, fear, or negativity is having. When it has a deleterious effect on the people who work in a department, in a college, in a lab, wherever it might be, you can also assume that it is having an effect on the students (undergrad or grad) and on the general public, i.e., those who are supposedly served by the college or university. No one is helped by this. The public ends up knowing about the problem as will other shareholders or stakeholders (state legislators, etc.). This negativity just keeps building and feeding on itself, and if anyone deludes himself or herself that it’s a secret, it’s not.

Overwhelmed? Hold Things ‘Lightly’ – Pt. 2

Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:40:25 +0000

A teacher who’s a subscriber sent me this email: “I’m a teacher and when I think about everything that has been added to the plate of today’s teacher, I wonder if it’s ever possible to just be ‘just whelmed’ again.”

It’s a reality that people’s plates are “too full,” and thus pretty darn heavy. Practice reframing your view to hold what’s on your plate ‘lightly.’ Holding things lightly is to see them as

airy
bright
soft
feather-light
buoyant
weightless
lighter-than-air
floaty
of low density

Do you get the idea?

The Earth is Heavy. Spring Forth and Dance

In 1988, my husband and I moved to Nevada so I could become a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. We bought a new house in a new development and there was lots of dirt and no vegetation (it is a desert here, after all). We started the process of landscaping it ourselves (mostly Larry). Somewhere during the first year of this project (which continues today, by the way), we went to a field where there were a lot of rocks. Not exactly boulders, but BIG rocks. His idea was that we were going to lift them into the back of a truck we had borrowed. They really weren’t that big and yet, when we tried to lift them, they were VERY HEAVY. I remember exactly the sense that came over me. Earth is so heavy. I guess I had never really thought about it before but after trying to lift a little tiny piece of planet earth, I had this incredible sense of how heavy the earth was.

The reason I’m telling this anecdote, which I hope you haven’t skipped over, is this: Yes, Earth is heavy. Yes, your tasks, responsibilities, commitments, issues, etc. are heavy. And….you can choose to ‘hold them lightly.’ The alternative is to keep holding on to them ‘heavily’ and bear that burden. What does that do to your life? Do you like that weight, that burden, that rigidity? Or would you rather spring forth and …dance?

“Life may not be the party we’d hoped for, but while we’re here, we might as well dance.” Author Unknown

Maybe, if you’re holding things too tightly, feeling oppressed, or your burden is just too heavy, consider thinking about whatever that is and say, “In the big scheme of things, this _______ is small compared to __________.”

It’s not too hard to come up with what to put in the last blank. Just watch the news or look around next time you go to the grocery store or think about someone who has lost their child to illness. Pretty much, that helps me to reframe (that’s a key word & concept) my thinking to move to holding something more “lightly.”

Doing so does not negate your feelings of overwhelm (fear, stress, anger, frustration, pain, etc.), however it may help to put them in perspective.

See if this works for you.

And if the heaviness of your responsibilities is just one area that overwhelms you – and you would like to be ‘just whelmed,’ then you’re invited to join others (worldwide) who receive Meggin’s weekly emails (free!) at

**I Want to Be Just Whelmed (http://www.JustWhelmed.com)

If you would prefer quick, short weekly tips, then the following site is another place to find suggestions and other tools to support you in your quest for peaceful productivity:

**Top Ten Productivity Tips (http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com)

Toxic Work Environments – Negative Feedback

Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D. — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:43:04 +0000

A teacher who signed up for Patricia Hutchings’ teleseminar, “Why Be Wiped Out at Work?” sent in the question below ahead of time. Although Patricia addressed it in the teleseminar, I wanted to add some additional thoughts for the blog:

I’d like to know how to cope with working in a school environment where I am never given positive feedback, but only negative. An environment where the only comments given to me are critical, but not constructive. How do you keep your spirit and passion when you are never positively acknowledged for creativity, hard work, and willingness to do whatever needs to be done to help students? I’m on my third school in 7 years with ___ School District, and this harsh working environment appears to be the norm here. If I want to continue teaching here I need some means of coping with this kind of stress because my 13 previous years in other school districts did not prepare me for this.

This is sadly, more common than most of us would think – and certainly than we would hope. Here are a few possibilities for coping:

Leave. Smart people, good people, folks trying to help others (and so on) don’t need to put up with this. Sadly it has become the norm too many places…but one option is to leave.
Bring it up in a faculty meeting (you have to be quite brave to do this). Sometimes, though, you have to ‘go for it.’
Talk with the administrator privately. Use language such as the kind we discussed in the ‘toxic work environment’ workshop (which was recorded and is available).
Talk with individual teachers privately and inquire as to their perceptions. Do this in a non-gossipy way, of course. It needs to be a ‘checking on perceptions’ kind of conversation. “Is it me or do you sometimes feel there is a lot of negativity in our school?’ Something like that.
Try to identify the real source. Is it one person or is it 5 people or is it the entire culture? As Roger Mellott says, “You can’t enlighten the unconscious.” Some people are so clueless there’s no way to reach them. Many people aren’t clueless, however…and conversations may help.

I wish I had easy answers…I don’t. I’d suggest #1 again, though. Life is too short….

If you have not already accessed Patricia’s excellent teleseminar recording and handouts, you may access this webpage, sign up and everything will be sent to you automatically: http://www.meggin.com/PatriciaHutchings.php