Every day we experience stressful situations. But we do not always perceive these situations as stressful. On the contrary, we deal with most of them in a motivated and target-oriented way without feeling stressed. This is due to the fact that we perceive stress mostly when it has negative effects on our behavior, our needs, targets or our health. This perception is individual, just like the triggering stressors. A stressor that has non-productive effects on one person may have productive or motivating ones on another. Apart from the dose of stress and the number of stressors this is determined by their individual stress management skills.

People who develop an awareness for stress management skills and more self-confidence, cannot only identify their stressors but also know how to deal with them.

Individual learnings:

• Identify your current stressors
• Determine how much stress is stimulating, motivating or challenging for you
• Determine your “Job-related Stress Indicator”
• Take a critical look at your stress-related behavior
• Develop stress management skills
• Develop your awareness of stress, in order to deal with difficult situations successfully
• Turn non-productive stress into productive stress