He Works / She Works ®

Dr. Jim Carter and Dr. Jaine Carter

Sampler

As veterans of American business who have been on the fast track of corporations as well as our own companies, and as people who know the rigors of traveling as much as 150 days of the year, we're well attuned to stressful situations. We fully understand the pressures of the real world and have been teaching stress management for professionals for twenty years. Over these years, we have discovered that most working couples are weary and stretched-to-the- limit. That same technology that turned us into a global society increased the competition in our organizations and the pace of our lives. Faxes, e-mail, overnight deliveries, 24-hour customer service, banking by phone, satellite conferences and the threat of 500 television channels vie for our constant attention. We feel as if we are drowning in a sea of junk mail.

The pressure never lets up to keep up, and some of us are simply giving up.

Working couples have too much to do and not enough time to do it all. That won't change. Therefore, the single, most valuable commodity for working couples is time. We all recognize this and still people's schedules are too ambitious. This frantic pace affects everyone with whom we interact--parents, friends, co-workers, employers, neighbors, school systems and each other. Even our children are under pressure to achieve, accomplish and excel. It's a question of values. When asked, professionals state they are looking for self-fulfillment, but today that inner feeling of satisfaction is becoming ever elusive. As a result, many of us feel overwhelmed and full of anxiety.

Anxiety causes physical and psychological challenges that can be as disabling as a handicap and bring about a decrease in harmony and happiness. Continuous, unrelenting anxiety (too often discounted as "just stress") is what can lead to burnout.

"I Work Better Under Pressure"
No you don't work better under pressure. That's a myth perpetuated by procrastinators. Simply put, stress is energy. You need some stress to keep you breathing and moving, but pressure is negative stress and that consumes energy. Stress can be stimulating, or it can be a killer. A stressor (force causing stress) may have positive or negative impact on you. Whether or not your optimal level of stress will turn into distress depends on the rate of wear and tear on your body. Doing too much for too long quite literally wears you out. . . .