I was speaking with a client this week about her work ethic and how this affected her stress levels. She told me that she wears her stress like a badge of honour. She is proud of how much stress she can take. She is rewarded for taking on more projects than one person can reasonably handle, and her friends admire her for being able to handle her stress.

Sounds great, right? There is only one minor problem she hates the pressure and it is making her ill. Ah. Suddenly its not so great being superwoman the expectations people have of her (including her own) are too high, and too demanding. Fortunately she is coming to realise that this is not the way it has to be.

Im pretty sure shes not alone. I seem to remember doing something similar in a previous life taking on too much and feeling important because I had pressure. Do you ever feel the same? Its a sad situation when people are rewarded for how quickly they can grind themselves into the ground.

In case youre unsure, let me make my position on this perfectly clear stress is not something to be proud of. I do not admire stressed people. I admire happy, balanced, successful people. Success is not (to me) working an 80 hour week, and being available by mobile phone at 4am on your holiday.

I would much rather say I took 5 overseas holidays this year than I had a nervous breakdown. Ok, I exaggerate slightlybut only slightly. Wearing your stress like a badge of honour is dangerous to your health. Stress culture is similar to drug culture the people inside think its cool, the rest of us think fools.

Because of the harmful effects of stress, companies are required by law to provide reasonable stress management measures for their staff. Personally, I think individuals need to provide reasonable de-stressing measures for themselves. And the first one to adopt is to treat stress appropriately.

Think about your relationship with stress is it healthy? Do you use your stress to get you out of the way of a speeding bullet or as a signal that something needs to change. Or do you wear your stress like a badge of honour? How about a different badge of honour be proud of how relaxed you are! Or is that too radical for the noughties?

For a free report on "10 ways to de-stress", e-mail donna@donnaonthebeach.co.uk

DonnaOnTheBeach is a personal success coach - personal success means success in all areas of your life. It means living a life of Joy, Passion and Love. Is this the life you are living? To sign up for Donna's weekly newsletter go to http://www.donnaonthebeach.co.uk

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