I’ve been experiencing the roller coaster of learning new skills for the last several months.  I’m trying to become adept at the technology involved in creating and running an online business.  There have been moments of sheer frustration.  And there have been moments of sheer exhilaration.  I’ve learned to insert products in my shopping cart.  I finally figured out how to create my own website templates.  The long hours of trying to understand Joomla, WordPress, Dreamweaver, blogs, squidoos, article marketing, linking and much more is finally starting to make sense.  I feel like I’m trying to learn a foreign language and living in a foreign country.

Learning a new skill

I’ve had major meltdowns. I’ve had to walk away from it all to regain my perspective.  I’ve had celebrations to acknowledge mastering a task.  I’ve gotten excited to see articles I’ve submitted to directories being viewed by website and blog editors.

And to my surprise, I kept coming back to try again and again.  There were many times I thought about just walking away from the frustration and expense.  But every time I walk away, I come back, try it again, and make small gains.

So what’s the lesson in this?  Persistence?  Try and try again?  Don’t give up?  If it is your passion, you will prevail?

What do you think?  What experiences have you had as you try to learn a new skill or job? How does the “trying” affect the harmony in your life?

If stress is intruding on you at work it can:

• Reduce your productivity (which can cause more stress as your boss and co-workers recognize you are not holding up your end of the job)
• Impact your health in both the short-term (colds, flu, headaches, stomach aches etc.)  and long-term if you don’t resolve the stress (cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal problems, psychological disorders, etc.)
• Cause you to be less satisfied with your job
• Affect your relationship with your co-workers
• Affect your relationships with your family

The first step toward dealing with workplace stress is to identify what is causing the stress.  Once know what is causing the stress, you can then work on finding a way to resolve it. For me, one thing that causes stress is when I don’t know how to do something.  Usually it involves technology in some way, shape or form.  One trick I’ve learned is to step away from the task that is stressing me.  The simple act of walking away for a few minutes calms me down and helps me to reframe my mind.  Sometimes I have to leave it overnight.

Another trick I’ve learned is to check my “self talk.”  Usually when I’m frustrated and stressed, I have this unhealthy self ‘talk going on.  “I don’t know why this has to be so hard.”  “How come everyone else gets this and I don’t.”  “I just don’t get it.”  Recognizing the limiting self-talk and changing it to:  “I can figure this out.”  “I just know I can do this.” or “This is easy and fun.  I can find the information I need to figure it out.”  has proven over and over that I can control my emotions and my stress.

What causes you stress in your workplace?  What tips or tricks have you used to reduce the stress and strengthen the harmony in your life, family and work?