I learned about the effects of stress on individuals and organizations from a teacher named Eugene Jennings.

He outlined three. I’m going to take one at a time.

One is called “Heightened Event Awareness” (HEA). Jennings said that when we are under stress, we tend to give events greater importance than they may deserve.

Some examples:

You are feeling stressed and anxious. You get a call from your child’s school that he has missed two days of homework. You decide that your worst fears are being fulfilled: your child is sure to become a dropout and a failure. You create a big program for path correction. All while you are wondering what’s got into you.

There is a big overreaction. A mild setback is turned into a major event, and you place more importance on it than it really is. That’s HEA.

It can also go the other way. When things happen that cause your strength, you yearn for any good news that will give you relief. A couple of positive things occur, and you leap to the conclusion that everything is going to be fixed. You can turn a couple of fortuitous events into a trend where nothing will ever go wrong again. You are blindsided when you learn the problem isn’t solved yet and there’s still work to do. That’s HEA.

Under stress, our perception is off. We can be more dramatic. We can imagine dire consequences. Our activity can become manic.

Understanding that stress can affect our perception is a power in itself. If you know that you have that tendency, you can adjust, double-check, or ask for other people’s feedback.

When under stress, don’t go with your first reaction. Pause and consider deeper. Ask for the views of others. Trust your team. 

-Howe Q Wallace Jr