What to do when you can't do less?

Psychologist and church leader Kate Middleton considers the question in brief ...

Last week I had the chance to catch up on a great talk about stress: one by my mate Will Vanderhart, given as part of the recent Leadership conference at Holy Trinity Brompton in London. Will's talk is a great, fun consideration of the many challenges of leadership - whatever the context - and of how we manage when our work or our life enters a time of high stress. What do you do if you can't just 'do less?' It is really useful for people in ministry or church leadership - but anyone in a position of responsibility will find it helpful. Of course I would add to Will's talk that in spite of what many people are told, good stress management is not just about avoiding stress or doing less to 'run away' from stress. Stress is inevitable and particularly for those who push themselves hard, it is an inescapable part of a driven life. Stress is not something we should fear or hide from, but it is something we should respect and learn how to manage. And most of all, the more we want to push our limits, the better we must get at handling stress.  Because like it or not we are all human and we do have limits. 

Catch up with Will's talk here, through the Mind &soul podcast. You can download other talks from the conference here.

Kate Middleton is the author of Refuel: How to balance work, life, faith and church – without burning out. The book is available in paperback and eBook priced £9.99. Meanwhile, check out www.refuel1211.co.uk for more information on stress.