Stress and Support

Stress!  Stress is a killer.  Stress can and has caused me to say negative things more than anything else in my life.  When I am under pressure I often feel justified in being hyper critical of others and overly sensitive to any increased demands placed on me.  This past week has been one of those times.  This coming week will continue the pressure cooker.  I won't bore you with all the details of what all the pressure is about.  I'll just say it is work related.  I have wanted to go negative and blow up, and I have at a couple of crucial moments slipped and let a little steam escape, but nothing like the old days of blowing my lid completely off.  I wish I could have done better, but I also recognize that there has been tremendous progress in the way I have so far handled all of the situations contributing to the stress.  I find that my pledge to say nothing negative about anyone is causing me to stay focused on finding solutions and trying to implement them.  It is also helping me recognize that I am not responsible for how others handle stress, nor do I need to take it personally when, because of their stress they let a little steam blow my way.  That breakthrough alone would make this experiment worthwhile!  I have not been able to write as much this past week because of the amount of work on my plate, which of course is what I am writing about now.  I can only say that I am so far very glad I made this pledge and that I have help available when I need it.  If you should decide to try this "say nothing negative" thing I can strongly recommend you get at least one person to be a support to you, and if you can get three like I have, so much the better.  Without them and this blog I might have let this slip away like so many other resolutions in the past.  Thank you for keeping me going.  The longer I try this, the more I realize how badly I need it.