The Stress Game

Imagine that everyday, we are all playing “The Stress Game”. In the game, you go through your normal day and as things come up, you get “stress points” to add to your day. The max is 100, and that means you’ve been majorly stressed all day. The lower the score, the better for you. 

The cool part of the game is, YOU get to decide how many points to assign to the various parts of your day. 

If you start off the morning with a flat tire and are late to work, do you give yourself 5 points, or  or 80? 

If your boss disagrees with you in a meeting in front of your peers, is that 1 point? 100 points? 

When your spouse tosses his dirty laundry on the floor, so-close-to-yet-not IN the laundry basket, is that an automatic 20 points? Every time you walk past it? 

The way you assign your stress points has a lot to do with how you think, how you were raised and the experiences you’ve had. You’ve probably never stopped to think about exactly how you assign your stress points. You’ve probably been playing the game your whole life without evaluating how you do it.  

BUT HERE’S THE GREAT NEWS. You get to decide. A flat tire can ruin your day, or be a blip. Your annoying boss can send you into a tailspin for the day, or not. That laundry on the floor, next to the laundry basket? That can register as 0 stress points if you want. 

Learning to dial down the stress points is just a skill.  Anyone can learn to do it. It’s something I teach all of my clients, and they all (yes, seriously ALL) become champion Stress Game players, with record low scores.  

Can I help you become a Stress Game gold medalist? It’s so much more fun to play the game when it ends with a calm and peaceful feeling at the end of the day. The first step is to set up a complimentary discovery call with me, which you can do right here. 

PS The Joy Game works the same way, except more points is better. Just yesterday, I assigned a chocolate covered pretzel dipped in peanut butter 25 joy points.