7. Mental Health: Building emotional resilience at work.
Mental health forms the foundation of emotional well-being and professional performance. Everyday events can trigger emotional reactions; if left unresolved, stress builds and can lead to burnout. Taking care of your mental fitness, much like physical fitness, through proactive, regular practice is vital for career resilience.
Awareness:
- Pause for a moment. How are you feeling right now? What emotions are you experiencing?
- What triggers your stress? Is it driven by internal thoughts, external factors, or both? Are you placing unnecessary pressure on yourself, or are demands from others becoming unmanageable?
- Reflect: is this stress linked to unresolved past experiences?
Agency:
- Once you’ve identified the source of stress, ask yourself what actions you can take. Could adjusting your workload, setting clearer boundaries, reframing situations, or seeking support make a difference?
- Incorporate practices like mindfulness, regular movement, connecting with friends, or taking creative breaks into your routine to alleviate stress
- Like athletes who need rest for physical recovery, your mind needs downtime to reset. Schedule daily non-negotiable downtime for relaxation to build mental resilience.
