The Mechanics of Reading this Book

We suggest that you follow a set of specific steps as you read this book. First, make sure to study the table of contents to get an overview of the terrain you will be covering. Spending a little time wondering about the different concepts and ideas you will encounter will ready you to make use of them. Surveying material before you read it has been found to be an effective means of really learning it. An appropriate analogy is that of a computer. Imagine you save new data to the hard drive without using directories or subdirectories. After a short time, although the information is stored in your computer, you can no longer find it! There is so much disorganized data that it's hard to find what you are looking for. Our memory works much the same. When you survey data to be learned, it is as if you are creating a directory in which the data will be organized to facilitate retrieval of the information. For the same reason, it is important that prior to each section, you contemplate the brief outline for that section.

Something else we know about learning is that reviewing what you have just learned is a powerful way to ensure that the neural pathway to the information is active and open. To use another analogy, think of your memory as a dense forest where your thoughts reside. When you review the information, you ensure that the path through the forest remains clear. For this reason, we strongly suggest that you review the chapter summaries and the master strategy outlines. These sections recapitulate the Master Strategy you are working toward. They outline a series of steps that, if practiced, will surely lead toward stress mastery.

This book is organized to present you with a framework for understanding how stress affects your life and your functioning, combined with teaching you a wide variety of physiological and cognitive strategies for coping with stress in the workplace and in your life in general. You will learn how to control your breathing and level of muscular tension as a way of calming yourself. You will learn the characteristics of individuals who are stress hardy (that is, resistant to stress) and how to adopt those qualities for yourself. You will be exposed to ways of interpreting situations that decrease stress, and you will learn how to counteract anger and upset by modifying your thoughts. You will be educated about how diet and exercise affect your stress level and your ability to cope. Assumptions that heighten workplace stress will be reviewed, along with ways to substitute healthier strategies. If procrastination or poor time management plagues you, this book offers effective guidelines for meaningful behavioral change. You will also learn about high-tech tools for coping with stress and how to use them in your daily life. You will be familiarized with a helpful framework for asserting yourself successfully. And this book will help you put all of these perspectives and tools together into a coherent strategy.