This week, personal development coach, chartered accountant and NLP practitioner Carol McLachlan warns accountants to beware of their stress demons.

There are 2.7 million hits on Google for accountants+pressure (solicitors achieved a mere 850,000). From our salad days toiling on the job by day, grinding the books by night, to the assimilation of last minute budget changes, to the client with the ‘do or die’ deadline just cut by two weeks; we know pressure very well.

Eustress makes a strong bedfellow
Eustress is the good stress that motivates and drives us forward. It is controlled stress that gives us our competitive edge, provides focus and fuels us to think on our feet and make swift decisions. This sort of pressure is vital to get us going and keep us challenged.

As accountants, we are consummate experts on eustress. In fact, we thrive on it: Under optimal pressure we demonstrate strong mental flexibility; we respond adeptly to the unexpected; we keep an open mind and are willing try new or different approaches.

What’s the difference between a frog and an accountant?
Not much it seems. Drop a frog into boiling water and he’ll leap to safety, but in a pan of cold water slowly heated to boiling point he’ll simply cook. Sadly, as the temperature rises, many of us quietly boil in stress and it’s bad for us; physically and mentally our health suffers. Beware of the rocky road from eustress to distress.

In a recent article for AccountingWEB.co.uk, Ivor Murray [1] pointed out that ‘accountancy is precisely the kind of profession that provides plenty of the ‘excessive pressure that causes stress’. It’s a tricky one. Too little pressure and boredom takes hold; we’re not stimulated, job satisfaction declines and life lacks meaning. Too much and we’re in the panic zone, stricken with worry, unable to cope, burned out.

‘The time to relax is when you don't have time for it’ (Sydney J. Harris)
Yes, you heard it right. Of course we know what we should do, but how do we know when we’re moving into danger zone? The key is to be alert to your own stress signals. Learn to recognise your own personal ‘sweet spot’ where optimal pressure delivers optimal performance.

Accountant: Know thyself
The secret to consistently riding the crest of the eustress wave is emotional intelligence. EI or EQ refers to the ability to understand your emotions, responses, behaviours. Honing your EI has benefits beyond stress control, it also helps you understand others and get better results.

You can learn about EI from Daniel Goleman’s seminal work* but in the meantime, start with the self-coaching exercise at theaccountantscoach.com [2]. Switch on your conscious awareness, start looking out for your personal ‘sweet spot’, recognise the triggers that push you from eustress to distress and install some safety devices.

We’re good at eustress, but unearth your personal trip switch and you’ll also be safe from blown fuses.

*Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ, Daniel Goleman, Bloomsbury Publishing, 1996.

Carol McLachlan FCA
theaccountantscoach.com [3]
Email: info@theaccountantscoach.com [4]

Next time: Coach Carol will be looking at goals and targets.