Hardiness - Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals

Learn to embrace the 3 C's of psychological hardiness to overcome stress and increase personal growth
 
Life is full of questions. How you answer these questions can determine which path your life takes. Think about how many questions you are faced with every day. It can be overwhelming. From the mundane to the profound, questions help you navigate everything from your daily routine to your career choices and relationships. Sometimes, asking the right question is just as important as the answer: What do you want out of life? Is it financial success? A loving family? Career achievement? Maybe you are coping with a serious illness. Whatever your goal may be, you have undoubtedly encountered barriers that slow your progress. One of the biggest of these barriers is stress. Scientific research has found that your ability to resist the damaging effects of stress--your hardiness--can reduce stress-related illness and strengthen your ability to thrive under pressure.
 
Hardiness, written by respected clinical and research psychologists, will help develop your psychological hardiness which, in turn, enables you to enjoy more of life's rewards. Mastering the 3 C's of hardiness--commitment, control, and challenge--is essential to increasing hardiness and responding effectively to stressful situations. This invaluable guide provides exercises and activities, based on 30 years of research, specifically designed to increase your hardiness in all areas of your personal and professional life. This book will help you:
* Understand how hardiness is assessed to evaluate and improve your response to stress
* Unlock your new potential made possible by a better understanding of hardiness
* Examine real-life examples and case studies of psychological hardiness
* Increase your engagement in the surrounding world
* Capitalize on opportunities for your personal growth
 
Hardiness: Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals can help you move toward becoming healthier, more self-actualized, and increasingly satisfied with your life and future.

List of contents

Introduction xiii
 
Chapter 1 Stress: What's All the Fuss? 1
 
Stress: It's Unavoidable 4
 
Your Body's Response to Stress 6
 
Hardiness Can Make a Big Difference in How You Cope with Stress 9
 
Introducing the Three Cs 10
 
Chapter 2 Commitment: Why Pursuing Purpose in Life Matters 15
 
What is the Theory Behind Commitment? 16
 
What We Can Learn About Commitment from Prisoners of War 17
 
Surviving Post-traumatic Stress: Hardiness-Commitment Versus Short-Term Pleasures 18
 
Increasing Commitment in Your Life 20
 
Victor Frankl: Purpose, Commitment, and Meaning 21
 
The Role of Commitment in Success: Jim Carrey 23
 
When Commitment Leads to Calling: The Success Factor for Musicians 25
 
Chapter 3 Building Commitment 29
 
Take Time to Think About What is Important and Interesting to You 29
 
Are You Plagued by the Work/Balance Conundrum? 31
 
Increase Your Skills and Competence in an Area That is Important to You 32
 
Take Pride in Your Past Successes and Achievements 34
 
Remember the Good Things in Your Life, and Count Your Blessings 36
 
Spend Time with Family, Friends, and People You Care About 38
 
Pay Attention to What's Going On in the World Around You 39
 
Try Out New Things 41
 
Chapter 4 The Role of Hardiness-Challenge 45
 
A Tale of Two Accountants 46
 
How Challenge Prepares You for Change 47
 
Understanding Your Mindset 48
 
Expanding the Mindset Concept Beyond Abilities 50
 
Why Traditional Coping Methods Don't Always Work 52
 
Examining the "Work of Worrying" Theory 54
 
Stress Mindset Versus Hardiness-Challenge 57
 
How Can We Change Mindsets? 58
 
Physiological Differences as a Result of Your Mindset 60
 
Hardiness-Challenge and Madonna 61
 
Chapter 5 Building a Challenge Mindset 63
 
Changes are Always an Opportunity to Learn and Get Better 64
 
Do Not Live Every Day by a Rigid Schedule 69
 
Be Willing to Change Your Plans to Meet Changing Conditions 70
 
Whenever You Fail at Something, Ask: What Can I Learn from This? 71
 
Try Out New Things, Take Reasonable Risks 73
 
Imagine Future Positive Outcomes 75
 
Do Not Dwell on Past Disappointments: Learn, Forgive, and Look Ahead 78
 
Chapter 6 Understanding Hardiness-Control 81
 
Taking Control When Your Body Can't: Michael J. Fox 82
 
Managing Your Internal Drives 83
 
Planning an Orderly Future 84
 
Control: Too Much or Too Little 85
 
Can Mental Health Problems Be Related to Control Issues? 87
 
Can Higher Control Have Benefits at Work? 89
 
How Control Can Make You More Effective at Work 90
 
How Can You Start to Improve Your Control? 91
 
Chapter 7 Getting Yourself More in Control 93
 
Focus Your Time and Energy on Things You Can Control or Influence 93
 
Work on Tasks That are Within Your Capabilities, Moderately Difficult but Not Overwhelming 95
 
For Difficult Jobs, Break Them Up into Manageable Pieces So You Can See the Progress 97
 
Plan Ahead and Gather Up the Right Tools and Resources for the Task 99
 
Ask for Help When You Need It 101
 
Recognize Your Successes 103
 
When You Just Cannot Solve a Problem, Turn Your Attention to Other Things You Can Control 105
 
Chapter 8 How Hardiness Works to Protect Health and Performance 107
 
The Hardy Stress Response: Appraising the Situation 108
 
The Hardy Stress Response: Reacting to Stress 111
 
Positively Adapting to Stress 112
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About the author

STEVEN J. STEIN, PHD, is a clinical psychologist and the Founder and Executive Chair of Multi-Health Systems (MHS), a leading behavior analytics firm. His work on human performance has been featured in top media outlets worldwide. He teaches at the Directors College of Canada. PAUL T. BARTONE, PHD, is a Visiting Research Fellow at the National Defense University's Institute for National Security Policy. During his U.S. Army career, Colonel Bartone served as the Army's senior research psychologist and deployed worldwide. He also taught leadership at West Point and at the National Defense University. Bartone has been studying hardiness, health, and performance for nearly forty years.

Summary

Learn to embrace the 3 C's of psychological hardiness to overcome stress and increase personal growth

Life is full of questions. How you answer these questions can determine which path your life takes. Think about how many questions you are faced with every day. It can be overwhelming. From the mundane to the profound, questions help you navigate everything from your daily routine to your career choices and relationships. Sometimes, asking the right question is just as important as the answer: What do you want out of life? Is it financial success? A loving family? Career achievement? Maybe you are coping with a serious illness. Whatever your goal may be, you have undoubtedly encountered barriers that slow your progress. One of the biggest of these barriers is stress. Scientific research has found that your ability to resist the damaging effects of stress--your hardiness--can reduce stress-related illness and strengthen your ability to thrive under pressure.

Hardiness, written by respected clinical and research psychologists, will help develop your psychological hardiness which, in turn, enables you to enjoy more of life's rewards. Mastering the 3 C's of hardiness--commitment, control, and challenge--is essential to increasing hardiness and responding effectively to stressful situations. This invaluable guide provides exercises and activities, based on 30 years of research, specifically designed to increase your hardiness in all areas of your personal and professional life. This book will help you:
* Understand how hardiness is assessed to evaluate and improve your response to stress
* Unlock your new potential made possible by a better understanding of hardiness
* Examine real-life examples and case studies of psychological hardiness
* Increase your engagement in the surrounding world
* Capitalize on opportunities for your personal growth

Hardiness: Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals can help you move toward becoming healthier, more self-actualized, and increasingly satisfied with your life and future.

Product details

• Authors: Paul T Bartone, Paul T. Bartone, Sj Stein, Steven Stein, Steven J Stein, Steven J. Stein, Steven J. (Multi-Health Systems (MHS)) Stein, Steven J. (Multi-Health Systems (Mhs)) Bart Stein, Steven J. Bartone Stein, Stein Steven J.
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2020
• EAN: 9781119584452
• ISBN: 978-1-119-58445-2
• No. of pages: 288
• Subjects: Guides > Law, job, finance > Training, job, career; Social sciences, law, business > Business > Management; Verbraucherverhalten, Ratgeber Wirtschaft, Business & management, Consumer behavior, Wirtschaft u. Management, Business Self-Help, Wirtschaft /Ratgeber