WHAT TO DO FIRST WHEN FEAR HITS YOUR WORKPLACE
Rhoberta Shaler, PhD
www.OptimizeInstitute.com
www.WorkplacePeopleSkills.com
www.TamingTenseTeams.com


Money is tight. You hear that layoffs are coming. Someone is
called to the supervisor's office. Word travels through the
workplace. Fear creeps in. Anxiety grows.

It is said that, in times of drought, the animals down at the
watering hole look at each other differently. Are folks looking
at each other differently at your water cooler?

Your body has a mind of its own. When it senses fear, it
immediately goes into a protective mode. Your shoulders move
towards your earlobes. Your digestion slows down. You become
hyper-vigilant. Your hands and feet become cold as the blood
rushes to protect vital organs. When this happens, the blood also
leaves your brain. In fact, it first leaves the frontal lobes
whose job is associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech,
movement, emotions, and problem solving. Great! Just what you
need is the first to go!

Knowing this, then, it is imperative that you 'keep your head
about you' in tense times. Easy to say! Fortunately, not so
difficult to do. Here are some suggestionsno, really,
imperativesfor triumphing in tense times.*

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BE POSITIVELY SELFISH
______________________

Take very good care of yourself. This is important at all
times, however, it is essential in tense times. Do these five
things every day, without fail:

1. Often throughout your day, breathe deeply in through your
nose and exhale slowly through your mouth five times. This is the
best mini-vacation on the planet. You'll notice that your
shoulders naturally relax as you exhale through your mouth. The
increase of oxygen to your brain is also appreciated.

2. Go for a walk for, at least, thirty minutes each day.
Breathe well and relax your body. This is a time to enjoy the
beauty that you see. If you are walking in nature, see it there.
If you are walking on a city street, see it in the people you
meet. Find it. If your mind begins to race, do #1 above and
re-focus on what you are seeing.

3. Put your personal affairs in order. Clean your office,
your space, your home, your closets. Doing things over which you
have control is calming. Take back overdue library books. Pay
fines. Return borrowed items. Write that letter you've been
putting off. Make a will. Organize your finances.

4. Focus on your goals. What do you want to have accomplished
one week, month or year from now? What are your plans for
achieving these goals? What can you do pro-actively right now to
move forward? Again, take control of what is in your control.
This is important.

5. Eat nutritious foods. You know this and your mind will play
tricks when you are tense. What you think of as comfort foods may
be just the things that increase your discomfort. Sugars, for
instance, seem comforting, however, they can contribute to a
feeling of depression. Sure, many folks think that coffee keeps
them going when things are tough. It may give them that illusion.
Coffee is not only a stimulant but also a diuretic. That means it
is taking vital water from your cells just when you need it most.
It creates tension&and the desire for another cup!

______________________

BE ATTENTIVE
_______________________

It is easy to become hyper-vigilant when fearful in the
workplace. This is a natural response to high-stress or trauma.
Once one thing has happened, there is a heightened expectation of
more to follow. So, be attentive and avoid responding to
hyper-vigilance.

How do you do this? When something happens that could be
construed as an indication of a problem, say, you see two
colleagues chatting quietly together, ask yourself a few
questions. If lay-offs were not an issue, would this behavior
seem problematic? Am I labeling or judging this behavior
inappropriately? How am I intensifying the fear by my reactions
and behaviors? Am I doing anything that might be causing others
discomfort? This will help you adjust your perspective to
maintain balance.

Be attentive to your own behavior. When you focus on what you
can contribute rather than what you fear, several benefits follow.
You are calmer. You help others feel more settled. Your focus
makes you more valuable in the workplace. You become a leader.

______________________

BE PRO-ACTIVE
______________________

Keep your head up out of the sand. Be aware of the realities
of your current situation and plan for them realistically. If
your first reaction is panic, set aside an hour to just worry.
Get it out of your system. Worry really well and use that hour
fully. Then, look for actual evidence in reality of the best plan
for yourself.

Read magazines from your industry. What are the trends? What
are the needs? Do you need more training? Is re-location an
option? This would be a good time to assess your goals and focus
on your next steps.

Talk with others in your field, preferably, those in charge.
Ask your questions. Clarify the intentions of the organization.
Ask how and if your position is likely to be affected. Don't wait
to be a result. Be an effect, a cause!

Your life is too important to live in fear in your workplace.
You have goals. You have skills. You have direction. You have a
voice. Take charge of fear. You know that you are the only
person who is responsible for your responses to life. Choose
responses that support you. Too many people fail to step up to
the plate in their own game of life. Step up! Be positively
selfish, attentive and pro-active.

* Want to triumph in tense times? My booklet, Pack Your Own
Parachute: Top Ten Tactics for Taming Tense Times, gives you many
other ideas and strategies. It's available at my website,
www.OptimizeLifeNow.com.

Rhoberta Shaler, PhD All rights reserved worldwide.
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Dr. Rhoberta Shaler is the author of Wrestling Rhinos: Conquering Conflict in the Wilds of Work and founder of the Optimize Institute, WorkplacePeopleSkills.com and TamingTenseTeams.com . A well-respected psychologist, speaker, consultant and coach, she works with organizations that know their people are their top resource, and with enlightened leaders who know that building relationships must be a top priority. They know that working with Dr. Shaler creates right-sized, high-performance teams that are consistently effective and profitable--especially in a troubled economy.

Author of more than two dozen books and audio programs, Dr. Shaler offers cost-saving professional development through training delivered both in person and on the telephone. Call Dr. Shaler now and optimize your success. Visit www.OptimizeInstitute.com & subscribe to her ezine, The Rhino Wrestler.