Under Pressure

We all know what pressure is. Pressure from family, friends, our jobs, even ourselves can cause us to fail at any goals we undertake.

Sometimes family members think putting you down is the best way to make you angry enough to change a bad habit. Having people close to you criticize you may not be helpful at all. Instead it may cause you to give up on your desired outcomes altogether.

There are, however, some ways that pressure can be good for you.

It is important to know which kind of pressure inspires you and which kind hinders you.

Deadlines: For me, I work best when I have a specific date and/or time when something must be completed. Whether I'm taking a college course or must turn in my latest article to an editor, having a deadline inspires me to get my work done.

Accountability: Having to allow others to view my work, makes me work that much harder to ensure that it is as near perfect as possible. Anyone seeing my work as half-done, or lazy is embarrassing to me. Just knowing that someone else will see and judge my work motivates me.

Growth: "If you're the smartest one in the room, you're in the wrong room." Richard Tirendi.

This quote fully illustrates the type of pressure that motivates me most. I love to be surrounded by, and held to the same standard as people who are smarter and more experienced than I am. It forces me to stretch and learn in ways I could not have imagined.

It is important to recognize when the pressure you feel is positive, and utilize it.

Leverage positive pressure to achieve your goals in 2014!

What kind of pressure motivates you?

Guest Post- 5 Signs You Need a New Job

You may not know it but you hate your job and you need a new one, pronto. You may have gotten used to the odd signs and behavior you are displaying, but here are five tell-tale signs that you need to start tweaking your resume:

Sunday nights are spent weeping: I like to call this the ‘Sunday Night Work Weepies’. You have had a wonderfully short weekend and when dinner approaches your body starts to throw a tantrum. You ask questions like ‘Why me?’ and ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ If tears and self-questioning your life are a weekly routine, it’s time to find a new job.

You hide at the sound of footsteps: It’s like a bad horror movie, footsteps from down the hall are headed your way and next thing you know you are hiding under your desk. You are terrified to see your manager or boss because you know it will be another meaningless and underappreciated project or assignment. If you feel your stomach clench and find yourself breaking out into a sweat it’s time to find a new job.

You choose to eat lunch alone: You would rather eat your ham and cheese in your car than venture over to an overrated and campy burger joint with ‘these people’ that are called your ‘colleagues’. Every job comes with at least one partner in crime that you can share office drama and dread with. If you don’t like anyone in your office, then who will help talk you down after your vent sessions? It’s time to find a new job with people you like.

You can’t wait until the next round of Flu goes around: It’s time to find a new job if you followed the sniffling, sneezing and coughing receptionist around the last 30 minutes. You are begging for the aches and pains and a fever that will keep you home. If time spent sick in bed is ten times more appealing than going to work, time to move on.

Your friends don’t like you:You can’t figure out why your friends stopped inviting you over or why your family didn’t call on your birthday. There is no nice way to say this, you are being a jerk. They don’t like you because you dislike your job so much that all you do is cry, vent and complain to them. If you want your friends and family to love you again, find a new job.

Ring bell? Thought so. Now slap a smile on your face and brush up your interview skills and find something that makes you happy. Our lives are spent working; you might as well find a job that makes you want to hug kittens not drown them. Life is too short, good luck in your job search!

About the Author:

This guest post is contributed by Debra Johnson, blogger and editor of full time nanny.

She welcomes your comments at her email Id: - jdebra84 @ gmail.com.

Coping with Stress

We all face stress in life. One of the most stressful times is when you are working to improve your life. As adult students we often not only have to deal with the nomal stresses that traditional students face, but also adult responsibilities like handling a full-time job, bills, and  raising a family.

It is important that we know how to properly cope with stress.  In my latest article written for Fastweb, I let you know why stress is bad for your health, and give you some inexpensive techniques for handling stress in a positive way.

Here is an excerpt from my article, "Coping with College Stress."

Let’s face it, college can be very stressful. Between carrying a full-time course load, work-study or a part-time job, internships, exams, papers due, finding time for friends, and keeping in touch with your family, it can all be too much. Some stress may be healthy, but too much of it will make you very sick.

Continue reading the full article HERE.