How to thrive UNDER PRESSURE
Ace life’s stressful scenarios – and emerge feeling stronger and more confident
LIFE SKILLS
WORDS KATHRYN BLUNDELL
You’ve got to give a speech in front of 100 people. There’s a big dinner party to prepare for. Relatives are coming to stay and the house is a tip.
From time to time, our usual routines are upturned and we find ourselves under the gun. There’s a deadline to meet and a clear goal, which should bring focus. But the flip side is that we know, more often than not, that our performance in these moments will be judged. Success depends on us. So how can we rise to the challenge?
Dr Angela Carter, occupational psychologist and academic at the University of Sheffield, has spent 30 years researching the impact of high-strain situations. ‘One of my earliest surveys examined stress in NHS staff, and found that the most stressed were the managers. However, they coped well because their job satisfaction was high.’