Before coming to your training, please do the following:
Managing associates at work can be stressful. Stress is your response to the pressure of a stressor—situations, activities, and relationships that demand a response from you and have the potential to affect your physical, emotional, or psychological self. In and of itself, stress is ambiguous because your reactions to it can be either negative or positive.
In this lesson you will learn strategies for coping with and managing stress. As you apply the information taught in this lesson, you will be better able to manage your stress levels both at home and at work.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
While some people think that stress-induced strain can damage their emotional and physical wellbeing, others see it as an invigorating challenge. Share an experience when stress was a positive factor in your life.
When we react negatively to our stressors, we may experience physical illness such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
As a group, read “Differences between Burnout and Stress” (Rowland Croucher, “Stress and Burnout in Ministry,” churchlink.com.au). Divide into pairs and discuss specific examples of compassion fatigue and burnout that you have experienced or have seen in others. Share your examples with the group.
The idea of compassion fatigue implies that our ability to be compassionate will at some point make us indifferent. As a group, read and discuss Mosiah 18:8–11. Then watch the video “Jesus Christ's Love” (LDS.org), which is an excerpt from Elder John H. Groberg's talk “The Power of God's Love” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2004, 9–11).
Jesus Christ's Love
Record your answers in your learner's journal.
Read the following statement:
The words empathy and compassion have roots in Latin and Greek words meaning ‘to suffer with.’ Empathy means getting behind the eyes of another person, identifying with that person, and understanding why he or she feels and acts the way he or she does. Having compassion causes you to help someone feel better because you understand when the person is suffering” (Gayle M. Clegg, “Teaching Our Children to Accept Differences,” Ensign, June 2004, 42).
With a partner, discuss the difference between empathy and compassion.
Share an experience when you displayed empathy and an experience when you displayed compassion.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
There are many ways to manage stress and simplify. As a group, read “Move More, Stress Less” (Larry A. Tucker, Ensign, Aug. 2004, 58–59). Discuss the physical examples of relieving stress that the author mentions.
Share which stress management methods work best for you.
Watch the video “Good, Better, Best” (LDS.org), which is an excerpt from Elder Dallin H. Oaks's talk “Good, Better, Best” (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 104–8).
As a group, discuss how you decide which stress management techniques to use.
Watch the video “Highlight: Therefore They Hushed Their Fears” (LDS.org), which is an excerpt from Elder David A. Bednar's talk “Therefore They Hushed Their Fears” (Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 46–49). Sometimes the negative stress that we experience comes from the external world. Other times it comes from our own inner thoughts about ourselves, our experiences, and our inadequacies.
Discuss the following questions:
Seek to identify a personal or business gap or need.
Spend a few minutes silently pondering what you've discussed during this lesson. Listen as the Holy Ghost helps you identify areas where you can improve. Record your impressions in your learner's journal under the question “What Lack I Yet?”
Seek ways to close the gap or develop the required talent(s) to meet the need.
With the guidance of the Spirit, create your plan of how you will improve and close the gap(s) you have identified. You may use one or more of the exercises below, your own strategy, or a combination of both. Record this plan in your learner's journal under “What Must I Do?”
After a few minutes, those who are comfortable doing so can share their impressions with the group.
Seek understanding, and then share what you learned.
During the week, focus on implementing the plan you created. Record your impressions or lessons learned in your learner's journal under “Therefore, What?” You will be given time at the beginning of next week's lesson to share your experience with the group.
Use this material if you would like to learn more about stress management.