Microstress acts like a stove slowly turning up the heat on the tea kettle. Eventually, that tea kettle screams. And that piercing sound affects everyone around it.
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"2023 Plutus Award Finalist: Best Personal Finance Content for Couples or Families"
Modern Husbands Podcast guest Rob Cross is the Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Leadership, Babson College and co-founder and current research director of the Connected Commons, a consortium of over 100 leading organizations accelerating network research and practice.
Mr. Cross is also the author of the Microstress Effect.
We learned from MR. Cross that microstress is not something you can shrug off, regardless of how strong you believe you are. Microstress. Recent studies have identified the microstress comes from 14 primary sources, divided into three categories that cause the following:
drain your capacity to get things done
deplete your emotional reserves
challenge your identity
Some of our largest sources of microstress emanate from people we are closest to; our spouses, children, and friends. These interactions do not create stress through conflict but rather feelings of guilt or anxiety.
We don't want to disappoint family or let friends down.
These special relationships can enhance the stressful fallout of the challenging moments that happen throughout the day.
Microstressors build up over time, the pernicious effects can become crippling and take a toll on our physical and mental health, our energy levels, and our overall well-being. They burn us out and can eventually shut us down.
“A negative interaction is up to 5x more impactful than a positive interaction?”
In our previous post, How Microstress Impacts Your Marriage and What to Do About It, we shared the microstress sources that relates to the environment and interactions that occur in a marriage.
Microstress takes a compounding toll on our happiness, and we need to be more aware of it to manage our emotions better.
Here are three ways to do so:
Say no to small asks.
Reduce how frequently technology interrupts your day.
Microstress you cause on others will likely boomerang back to you.
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