Are You Living Under Pressure?

How do you handle the pressure?

In March 2007, I left work at about five o’clock eager to get home, turn on the television, make my favorite brand of hot Chai, relax and just enjoy my life.

It was a pretty normal afternoon or so I thought!

After many years of driving my 13 year old car, I had finally got a brand new one. I had owned it for sixteen days.

Anyway, as I was driving home—a deer suddenly jumped right in front of my car. Before I could clearly process what was going on, the deer was on my windshield and my air bags had deployed. In that moment, which I will call my “priority defining moment,”—everything, including all my plans for the evening and beyond suddenly became irrelevant. They didn’t matter anymore…what mattered was the crisis I was facing and what needed to happen next to bring about a sense of normalcy in my life.

Have you ever had those kinds of moments?

Anyway, for a brief moment, I really didn’t know what to do. My head was spinning. I couldn’t believe what had happened. I later realized I was in shock!

As I sat in my car wondering what to do next, I found myself wishing that there was some knowledgeable person with me to handle the details of what needed to happen next. All I wanted to do was focus on what I was feeling…which was, “I can’t believe that this deer just ruined my brand new car!”

I had to quickly come to my senses because the reality was, I was alone on the road and if I wanted help…it was up to me to gather my thoughts, figure out what to do and respond to the crisis.

It was up to me. I felt pressured to perform!

I had a rough idea about what I needed to do, but in that moment, I found it challenging to process my thoughts, put them together and then act on them. I was literally asking myself questions like, “Caroline, what do you need to do when you have an accident?” (Strange but true.)

Then I remembered my what? Who? How? Where? When?—life management questions which helped me create a plan of action.

Are you feeling the pressure and don’t know what to do?

Here are 5 simple life management questions to help you ease the pressure, get things in perspective and take the next step forward:

The questions are pretty basic but they work and can be used in any situation! Try them.

With regard to a specific situation you are currently facing in your personal life, health, emotions, business, school, career, finances and so forth. Consider and answer the following questions:

1. What?

For example: What is going on? What needs to happen next? What can someone do to help me? What can I do to make it better? What can I do to get from here to there?

2. Who?

For example: Who needs to know? Who should be contacted? Who can help? Who has the resources I need? Who cares about me? Who needs my product? Who is in charge?

3. How?

For example: How can this be resolved? How can I deal with this situation? How can I contact that person? How can I be helped? How can I get what I want?

4. Where?

For example: Where can I find help? Where do I need to start? Where are the resources I need? Where are the people who can address this issue?

5. When?

For example: By when should this project be complete? By when should the action be taken? Remember that a goal without a deadline is wishful thinking and nothing else.

TIP: When faced with any situation, ask—what, who, how, where and when!