Success Under Stress: Powerful Tools for Staying Calm, Confident, and Productive When the Pressure's On - Softcover

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SHARON MELNICK, PH.D., is a business psychologist dedicated to helping professionals "get out of their own way." Her practical tools are informed by 10 years of research at Harvard Medical School and field-tested by over 6,000 training participants and coaching clients.

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“The ability to get greater results and preserve well-being amidst change and challenge is the defining skill set of our times. Read this book—it is packed with life-changing insights and practical tools to put you in control of your own success.”

— Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times bestselling author of MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

Overflowing email. Endless to-do lists where everything is a “priority.” Pain-in-the-neck colleagues. A crisis suddenly dumped on your desk. Nagging guilt. No doubt about it: For most of us, stress is “the new normal.”

Each day amid a steady stream of anxiety-producing events, it gets harder and harder just to stay afloat—and keep the tension from affecting your personal life—let alone achieve your next level of success. Conventional wisdom says we should eat right, get enough sleep, and take a deep breath. All good. Yet, even these don’t always seem sufficient now. And anyway, who has the time?

Business psychologist Sharon Melnick spent a decade researching tools and techniques for staying resilient and productive even under chaotic and ever-changing circumstances. In Success Under Stress Melnick supplies a treasure-trove of the most effective quick-fix tools that you can use immediately to:

Get back to sleep in 3 minutes if you wake up at night worrying about work

• Increase the time you have to think—and to finish your high-priority work

• Boost your productivity dramatically by following one simple, but very powerful rule

• Turn obstacles into opportunities by getting the emotion out of situations

• Keep a cool head—even when others drive you nuts

• Turn self-criticism into self-confidence, and speak up more powerfully at meetings

• Increase your focus during the day (and keep things from falling through the cracks!)—and have more energy left at night.

Success Under Stress provides a veritable arsenal of “magic bullet” solutions for increasing your productivity and minimizing your stress. It will help you turn down your internal pressure-cooker, remove friction from any relationship, and derive more career satisfaction than ever...all while exuding a level of calm and confidence that you’ve never known before.

SHARON MELNICK, PH.D., is a business psychologist and stress-resilience speaker dedicated to helping professionals “get out of their own way.” Her practical tools are informed by 10 years of research at Harvard Medical School, and field-tested by more than 6,000 training participants and clients.

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INTRODUCTION

What This Book Will Do for You

As a business psychologist who’s trained and coached more than

6,000 people, I’ve seen that some are surfing the wave of stressen

ergetically and confidently turning out successful projects—while

others are merely surviving. There’s a clear skillset that distinguishes

one group from the other. You already have a treasure trove of tools

at your disposal, but you might not know how to access them.

Once you learn the secrets to Success Under Stress, watch your

stock rise. Indeed, 71% of senior executives around the world reported

that the resilience to turn obstacles into opportunities is

“very” to “extremely” important in determining whom to retain.

Business owners who have a strategic approach to their day see a

rapid growth in their business.

I wrote Success Under Stress so that you can make your mark on

your organization and be the go-to person in your field, without sacrificing

quality of life. No longer will challenging events define your

day or the business results you get. You will cope better with stresses,

but more than that, you’ll know how to replace obstacles with opportunities

so that you eliminate what’s causing the stress. You’ll be able

to take charge of your workload and cut through complexity to see

new ideas that will help you stand out from the pack. You’ll know how

to motivate and influence others to follow your suggestions (and stop

wasting energy on frustration). You’ll develop the courage to speak

up in meetings and to pursue clients that may seem above your level.

Whenever you feel challenged or stuck, you’ll have the tools you need

to move through the situation and make it go your way.

Success Under Stress goes beyond the conventional wisdom of eat

right, get enough sleep and, if things get really hectic, “take a deep

breath and walk around the block.” Many people are finding these

approaches helpful, but insufficient for the way modern-day demands

interfere with their achievement and quality of life. This book will

show you how to approach any challenging situation by:

• Changing Your Perspective. A new point of view helps find new

solutions.

• Changing Your Physiology. Get focused when you’re overwhelmed,

energized when you’re exhausted, and calm when you’re

wired or frustrated.

• Changing the Problem. Solve your stresses at the root cause and

you won’t have to face them again!

From the very first time you use any one of the tools in this book,

you’ll notice an immediate decrease in stress and an increase in effectiveness.

And when you use tools from all three of these approaches

you’ll be able to turn around any challenging situation.

Best of all: Because I know how busy you are, almost every one

of the tools in this book can be learned and implemented in three

minutes or less. And what will you get?

• More control in your life.You will go from an experience of

“running around” to thinking clearly and accomplishing intended

results. You’ll feel more in control of your schedule. You’ll

be able to reduce the stress of living in fear that you’ll overlook

important work or miss out on client opportunities. You’ll achieve

this by making use of your greatest talents. You’ll clear away

what’s been draining your time and energy; you’ll be able to say

“no” to the tasks and projects that don’t hit your “sweet spot.”

• Steady energy and enthusiasm left over at the end of the day. In

this book, you will find tools that enable you to be “On” and

“Off ” at will. That means you can focus when you need to, and

yet also relax when you want to, so you can rejuvenate, enjoy

yourself, and sleep through the night. You’ll achieve the balance

of high-quality work and a satisfying life, minus the internal self-

induced pressure to please everybody. If you’re prone to beating

yourself up, if you think you’re not as good as your counterparts,

or if you take things too personally, you’ll learn how to get back

to a positive outlook and positive energy. If you fear speaking up

in a meeting or you’re reluctant to pick up the phone and call a

prospect you think won’t want to hear from you, you’ll have the

confidence you need to “go for it.” If you have to deal with someone

who aggravates you, you’ll know how to calm your frustration

and redirect the situation toward a good resolution. You

will know how to take the emotion out of situations and prevent

reactions that drain you.

• Opportunities out of obstacles. You’ll learn how to solve problems

and dissipate stress—by adjusting when, for example, priorities

change or when someone doesn’t respond to your request.

You’ll learn a mindset and skill set that will thrive in this time of

flux. You’ll discover how to “tolerate—even enjoy—recalibrating

careers, business models, and assumptions.” Soon, you’ll see