"Ah, Silence!" Practical Insights on Reducing Stress

The Sounda pile of mail and paper that keeps growing in your
It's nearly midnight and my wife and I are just aboutkitchen. Or a conflict with a co-worker that hasn't
to doze off, looking forward to a restful night ofbeen resolved. Though the cost of an individual
sleep. Until we heard the sound.toleration may not be that large, the accumulated toll
ends up impacting our stress level and focus.
What was it? Every 30 seconds or so we could hearIdentify and Reduce
the sound of water running--almost like a mini-flushHere are some recommendations to help with your
from the toilet in our master bathroom.I could heartolerances:
my wife sigh. "That thing is driving me crazy!"- Get a pencil and some paper. Don't start with fixing!
It's important to note that my wife didn't marry "JoeStart with identifying! What are those things that
the Plumber!" I love to learn how to fix things but Iyou've been putting up with? Google "clean sweep
definitely didn't get the "fix it guy" gene. But enoughprogram" and you'll find some insights from a CoachU,
was enough.Inc. program that can help you identify areas you
I'm glad to report that last weekend I fixed themay not even realize that you're tolerating.
toilet. The culprit: a flush valve seal that cost $1.47- Think Reduce. In the perfect world you could get
USD and about 30 minutes of my time.rid of all of your tolerances. In the real world, aim for
Life is Filled With Tolerationsreduce. Even a little progress will bring you satisfying
Why did we put up with the annoying sound whileresults. I recommend looking for the easiest item on
wasting at least a gallon of water a day when ityour list and starting with it.
could easily be fixed--even by me--for less than the- Chip away. Keep your list of tolerations handy.
cost of a cup of coffee? Because we do it all theWhen you get a window of available time, take one
time. So do you.action to chip away at it to make progress.
Life is filled with things that annoy us but, for aGet More Done With Less Stress
multitude of reasons, we put up with them. Often inThe last couple of days I've walked by the master
life it's not the sharks that cause the mostbathroom with a listening ear and a smile on my face.
problems--it's the guppies!"Ah, silence!" Funny how the little things in life can
In the coaching field we call such items tolerations.bring happiness! We can help you and your team
Similar to our plumbing problem, tolerations are thoselearn practical time management skills. Contact us
subtle leaks that drain our energy day-after-day.today about our keynotes, workshops, and e-learning
Typically they aren't big things. It could be a light bulbthat can help you get more done with less stress.
that has been out for a while. Or a squeaky door. Or