Depending on what industry you work in may depend on your state of mind leading up to Christmas. If you are in the retail, hospitality or service industries you may be feeling close to breaking point with the constant pressure of delivering all day everyday while managing staff, customers and suppliers. Juggling everything without dropping the bauble can be extremely difficult especially when tiredness sets in and tempers become frayed.
Small business owners also start to feel the pain at Christmas with the worry about supply and demand: Can we fulfil orders? What if we don’t get any orders? It’s a never-ending rollercoaster of worry and elation and as the stress mounts up so does the lack of sleep and irritability.
We feel your pain, but there is help if you can just look up from your to-do list and take a breather.
Keep Calm and Carry On, Christmas.
We have found this awesome ‘Keep Your Cool Kit’ published by The British Association of Anger Management’. www.angermanage.co.uk
It’s a simple yet brilliant guide filled with tips, techniques and activities to help you stay calm during difficult situations and manage your anger for better outcomes. We particularly like the RAGE Gauge; a four-stage process which highlights anger issues and explores simple but effective ways to release your emotions.
- Reaction:
Identify what it is you are reacting to in someone else’s behaviour.
- Anger:
Identify how angry you are on a scale of one to three and indicate this.
1. Simmering……2. Cooking……3. Boiling……
Say for example:
I am simmering with anger OR I am cooking with anger or I am angry with you…
- Grudge:
Are you holding onto a grudge or can you let go? If you are feeling angry and you are holding onto negative feelings, then tell the other person. Use “I…” statements
For example: When you do xxx I feel that disrespectful. I feel xxx when you xxx etc…
Important note: If you no longer feel angry with this person after this exercise Let It Go!
- Express:
What do you want from the person you are holding a grudge against?
For example: What I want is…for you not to speak to me in this way, OR for you to stop being nasty to me, OR for you to listen to what I have to say.
Finish your conversation by always saying “Thank you for listening to me.”
The ‘Keep Your Cool Kit’ isn’t a big document so it won’t take too long to read but it will make a huge difference to your mindset and your stress levels. Grab yourself a cuppa, get comfy for half an hour and give yourself a little attention. It will go a long way to reducing your anxiety and anger and could serious improve your health. Work through each activity with honesty and dig deep to find out what or whom is really pushing your buttons. Once you understand why, you can begin to understand how; How to de-stress, how to find peace, how to remain calm under pressure and how to live a happy and harmonious life. 
If you’re looking for a more, hands on approach to anger management and improving the mental health of your employees then you can always give us a call at Your People Potential.
We run regular open workshops on Mental Health First Aid and have a wide range of programs which can help you to create a culture of happy and healthy employees.
For an informal chat give us a call on 01954 267640 or email us directly at info@yourpeoplepotential.co.uk
