My past several posts on Urgency Addiction [1, 2] touched on the how and why of the matter. Now I’d like to talk about beating workplace stress – which usually involves a change in how we think.

Factoid: People who regularly complain about all the stress in their life may be addicted to the adrenaline that comes with it. And, just like with Alcoholics Anonymous, if a person is addicted to adrenaline, his/her best bet is to look at it just like any other chemical addiction. After all, adrenaline is a chemical produced by our own body, and yes, we can become addicted to it.

Believe it or not, an organization exists called Adrenaline Addicts Anonymous. They advocate the same 12-step program that every other “____-Anonymous” organization does.  Step one is always admitting the truth: You are addicted to adrenaline.

Being honest with yourself is a very good habit.

Yoda was wrong on one point

Anyone who’s seen Star Wars knows the character Yoda. In the first Star Wars movie, when Luke Skywalker was first being taught by Yoda, the little green Jedi made the following statement: “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Bzzzzzzt.  No can do.

We cannot unlearn!  What we CAN do and what we MUST do is learn new behaviors and then choose the new ones instead of the old ones.

I’m not saying this is easy. If we’re addicted to something, it’s certainly not easy to break free from it. For this reason, I recommend getting a coach or a mentor. Together, look forward and examine the ripple-effects of your actions. Do you want those things to happen?

Then decide what results you’d like to see, and identify what behaviors will be required to get those results.

Being accountable to a mentor about these things helps people stick with their decisions.

Choose Your Celebrations
 
Finally, choose ahead of time how you’re going to celebrate your victories.  With your coach, brainstorm ways to celebrate a more balanced approach to your work.  Then, as your success come, take the time to actually celebrate!

If you’re overcome urgency addiction, your story will help others. Feel free to tell us about it below.

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Filed in Motivation, Workplace, Corporate Culture, Retention, Coaching