Back to work, back to stress?

Was back to work today after about 1.5 weeks off over the Christmas holidays. I stepped into the office as relaxed as can be and wondering if I could hold onto it.

As I thought about it and prayed about it, and I realized the reasons one can get so stressed at work are two fold:

1. Our fears of failure drive us to struggle and strain unnecessarily when problems or challenges come.
2. Our ambitions spur us on to trying to do more that we can humanly do.

Consequently, the answer to staying unstressed is relatively simple: Don't allow the job define your life and your thoughts and--this is most important--don't allow the problems to disappoint you and affect your view of yourself.

When it comes to problems, expect them and accept them. Work to resolve them, but don't fight their existence and don't let them affect your view of who you are.

I enjoy my job and I want to do well at it, but the desire to be the best I can be and fear of failing to achieve that can cause me to get upset at problems and challenges. What I have realized is that I have to accept them and not define myself by their existence. Problems will never end. Challenges will always be there. Their existence doesn't mean that I am a failure. The fact that it takes time to resolve them doesn't mean that I am incompetent. Things can be hard and must be worked through, but I am good at my job and their existence doesn't change that.

This is key: I am not my job (and neither are you). I am who am I apart from my work. I am, more specifically, a child of God and what does it matter what happens in life if I have Him at my side?

Here's a great verse that applies to this issue of fear at work: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -- Philippians 4:6-7

Additionally, my natural desires to achieve also affect me, but in this case not out of fear but out of want. To battle this is to embrace contentment and not embrace the desire to do as much as possible to impress and achieve. There are more important things in life than work. It isn't the end-all and be-all of life. And what you achieve there doesn't make you who or what you are. Your relationship with God and with family, and even with yourself, is far more important than any job however much you like it or however good you are at it.

Here is a great verse that speak to this matter of contentment: But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment -- 1 Timothy 6:6

Ultimately, give your day and your thoughts into God's hands and allow Him to enable and strengthen you. Seek and accept His guidance--and you'll fly on eagles wings!