Controlling Stress With Systems Not Just For Business!
How Do You Control Stress?
What methods do you employ in controlling stress in your life? Would you say you are an extremist? Maybe, you are a total control freak, wreaking havoc in the lives of those around you, passing out orders and directives all the time. Or, maybe you are extremely passive and have not a care in the world, which can be an equally annoying behavior pattern for the people in your circle of influence.
Many people find that a "systems" approach to life helps to keep stress at bay. Business guru, Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth (The Entrepreneurial Myth) would say that systems are everything.
Watch the following video, in which Gerber describes how Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's, used clearly defined systems to design to most successful business in history. Gerber is speaking to entrepreneurs of course, but his teachings are very applicable to the personal lives of individuals as well.
Michael Gerber Author of the E-Myth (The Entrepreneurial Myth) On Systems.
You might say, "That's great for business, but how can it work outside of business? Individuals need freedom to be creative and spontaneous. The truth is that systems don't kill spontaneity, they actual free people up to be more creative and spontaneous. Its' all the chaos and stress, in life, that is keeping people trapped in their crisis-oriented, reactive lifestyles. Systems create more opportunities for spontaneity and personal growth.
In today's day and age, we are overly reactive and not very proactive at all. Spontaneity seems out of control and more like an excuse for a highly-stressful lifestyle than a desire for freedom and creativity. It seems to me that living in crisis-response mode all the time would take all the freedom and creativity out of life
People may say that planning and systems would make life boring, but, frankly, I could stand a little boredom in the daily grind. Who wants or needs to have spontaneity in the evening meal, seven days a week, for example? A simple plan and some systems would make that job at lot less stressful. What about routines around the children? It's well-known that children need routines to grow up to be happy, well-balanced adults. Just because, we aren't kids anymore, doesn't mean we don't need systems and routines. We do!
Controlling stress with systems and routines just makes sense. That way, we are free to be spontaneous about the good things in life without letting the daily grind eclipse our lives.
Getting carried away with systems is not the answer either, of course, and the goal should be to improve your quality of life and manage stress better with simple systems not rigid structure.
