Cryer and Childre proposed that people can “break the stress habit” by using “inner-quality management,” research-based techniques designed to transform reactions to stress while increasing performance and wellness. The approach they offer might sound familiar to anyone who has attended a Yoga class or who can remember Grandma’s “stop and count to 10” folk wisdom. Following are the steps to inner-quality management:
- Recognize and temporarily disengage from thoughts and feelings.
- Monitor how stress is affecting the body and mind.
- Practice deep breathing by visualizing air embracing the heart. Meditation and prayer might be equally as effective at this stage.
- Attempt to activate positive feelings. For example, generate feelings of appreciation to counter the frustration.
- Consider positive ways of dealing with the challenge. Thinking about the adverse consequences of rash actions may also help improve decision-making and behavioral responses to perceived stressors.
- Note changes in perspective and sustain positive feelings.
- With the mind, heart, and body in sync, reengage.
In short, inner quality management can help people to
- Deal with stress as it happens.
- Adapt to and influence the environment rather than suffer distress expecting that reality should be different than it is, and
- Implement functional coping strategies that foster growth and wellness.
Reference
Cryer, B., & Childre, D. (2003, July). Pull the plug on stress. Harvard Business Review .
