Midway through a three day course with some bomb-disposal guys from the British Army.
This is my third course with their regiment, and guess what?
It’s not even funded by the government. The bomb-disposal charity the Felix Fund are putting up the cash. Good on them.
Anyhow, what did I learn about stress?
Well, I knew it already, it’s just cool to hear it again.
They love their jobs.
They love it when they have a bomb to take apart. The whole part, sirens, cordoning off the scene, assessing, blowing it up if needed (they have their fingers crossed for this option), everything.
Same when I taught a paramedic to Ascend. I asked her how she liked her job. Her eyes got as big as saucers as she said “I LOVE IT!”
You know what causes the most stress?
Paper work, menial pointless jobs, not doing the things that they love.
And assessments.
Isn’t that funny? No chance of personal harm, just of failing.
The chance of failing causes more stress than dying.
They’ve done the real thing so many times, yet put someone with a clipboard to watch them and it creates havoc.
Do you see the obvious lesson here?
It is never the situation that causes stress, it is always your reaction to it.
Your reaction is the source of all stress.
You can’t control the situation - sometimes you’re just given a pile of poo.
But you can control your reaction. You can learn to react differently. You can choose to not be stressed.
You can choose to be calm in the face of intensity, even enjoy it.
It’s a fine line between enjoyment and stress, but it can become wide and obvious.
Now, either you don’t know how to choose not to be stressed,
Or, you don’t prioritise it.
Chances are it’s a bit of both.
It’s a skill you can develop, I swear.
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