Conclusion

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”

—William James

As I said a few hundred pages ago, stress is a natural and growing part of our lives. I’ve given you every strategy I can think of to help you reduce and manage your stress and to increase your productivity, so you can live a life of Working Well .

You’ve got plenty of options, from asking yourself the personal responsibility questions to focusing on creating more happiness in your life; from identifying your top three daily priorities to using power poses or trying the Pomodoro Technique. Not to mention taking breaks.

Now you just have to use the tools.

Are you still going to get stressed out? Probably. I still do. We’re all figuring out how to live a life of Working Well —finding balance and managing our stress is a challenge that doesn’t go away.

None of the strategies I’ve shared here are rocket science (neuroscience maybe, but not rocket science). It’s likely that you knew about some of them before reading this book. But now that you’ve been reminded of what you already knew and have learned a few new strategies, it’s time to put them into action.

Often, when we think about making a change, we see pain. We see a threat, and we decide that we’d rather just buy another book than actually use any of the tools we’ve learned.

I’ve done exactly that (which is why I have a huge pile of books on my bedside table). But let’s reframe the situation and view not taking action as the threat that will ultimately cause us pain. If we don’t take action, our stress will get worse and it will ruin our productivity, our health, and our relationships. Let’s reframe making changes so we can see possible pleasure, so we’re more likely to move towards the rewards we can see associated with taking action.

That reward is a really good life, where we’re happy and productive and we have great relationships at work and at home. Yes, there will still be stress, but we’ll have control over how we respond to it.

Our stressors may get more or less intense as our life circumstances push and challenge us in ways we’d never expected. Great things are going to happen in our lives, and terrible things may happen too. But now we’ve got a few more tools to be able to roll with the tough stuff.

We will falter and stumble as we try to manage everything that comes at us. But let’s give it our best shot and celebrate our small wins as we go.

Start right now. Because knowledge that is not turned to action falls out of our brains. Simply knowing what you should be doing yet not doing it, as I did so many years ago during my high-stress years, is not enough. Start with small, achievable actions, turn them into habits and celebrate your wins. Before you know it, you’ll be Working Well .

Please let me know how it goes—hearing your stories is the most inspiring and motivational part of my writing and teaching. You can e-mail me at: stephanie@managetoengage.com , or leave a review of the book on the site where you purchased the book or audiobook.

If you’re interested in having me come speak to your company, joining my super-fun online Working Well course and community, or working with me, check out my website at: www.managetoengage.com/working-well/ , or e-mail me at: stephanie@managetoengage.com . I’d love to stay connected and carry on the journey of Working Well together.