CHANGE
55
Stress Matters
Laura Capell-Abra, founder
of Stress Matters, says change
doesn’t have to be hard
According to fitness app Strava, Sunday 19
January was National Quitter’s Day. It’s the day
that many gave up on those good intentions they
made while jumping around at the firework
display on New Year’s Eve.
Most of us try to make changes that are too
radical or that we aren’t committed to enough.
Those who succeed set realistic goals and work
out ways in which to achieve them – they create
habits.
For the same reason that you walk into a venue
and automatically check egress routes and loading
bays without even thinking, looking after ourselves
and our team can be just as automatic provided
we practice.
There’s a great book called Atomic Habits
written by James Clear and he explains the
benefits of developing small habits that build upon
each other to make big changes. How 1%
improvements each day compound to make a
huge difference in achieving our goals.
One of my favourite quotes from the book is:
“Problem #1: Winners and losers have the same
goals.” There are few company owners who I talk to
that don’t want to ensure good workplace
wellbeing. However, it’s the small changes, the
habits that get built into our approaches and
processes every day that will see some companies
succeed in this areas and others fail.
Last month I asked you to commit to 2020 being
the year of change and re-prioritisation, so here is
one for you: build new habits around workplace
wellbeing.
Here are some our pledgers have got into, see if
any of these might work for you:
Firstly, ask each team member how they are
doing, and take the time to listen to the answer. It
doesn’t have to be every day, but try to build it into
your weekly catch-ups. The Time to Change
campaign is encouraging us to find Time to Talk on
10 February so you can start then.
Secondly, have one afternoon a week where
team members are encouraged to switch off their
emails and tackle those tasks that take a bit more
time to think.
Finally, ask each team member to commit to a
habit to improve their wellbeing and support each
other in achieving them.
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