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Watch the moon and cry  

ghrovy posted a photo:

 
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Mars' 'little green men' buried alive by merciless meteorites new theory  

Organic compounds unlikely to have survived cosmic pummeling, say scientists

Scientists hoping to find signs of Martian life on the surface of the Red Planet may not be in luck.…

 
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r0B0t: This smart pillow wirelessly streams music to help you sleep better  

ZEEQ, created by Moley Robotics, could be the answer to your sleeping problems. 

The smart pillow wirelessly streams music and gathers analytics through built-in sensors as you sleep.

The company hopes to distribute the pillow by 2017.  Read more...

More about Mashable Video, Standalone Featured, Apps, Music Streaming, and Sleep Products  
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King Henry's Mound  

Leigh Cousins RAW posted a photo:

Just about managed to catch this shot before the sun went down, and what a beautiful sunset it was! This is the west view from King Henry's Mound in Richmond Park.
I didn't expect there to be so much vegetation, in one way it blocks the view but another it adds to the atmosphere.

 
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Airbus A340-313, Cathay Pacific, B-HXF, London Heathrow, EGLL  

Airbus_A340 posted a photo:

After landing in London Heathrow on the A340 in B-HXF. We parked at a remote bay, which is rare due to being over 30 minutes early on arrival. A colourful sunset greets us as we disembark the aircraft. Bittersweet, as we will not see a 4-engine passenger service in London again. The A340 has served Cathay Pacific really well. It was a pioneer and a magnificent machine to fly, it will be the last ever of the 4-engine passenger service that Cathay Pacific ever flies. It will be missed when the fleet is phased out in the first half of 2017. Such is the reality of a business- looking to the future, the A350 is bigger, better, faster, more comfortable and more economical.

 
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Wetterhorn by Roland LCL  

Wetterhorn by Roland LCL

Roland LCL: Photos

 
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160804172359.htm  
Viewing video in slow motion makes action appear more intentional, new study finds  
Watching a video of a harmful or violent act being committed can provide useful evidence of the circumstances surrounding the action. But new research shows that watching that same video in slow motion can often cause viewers to see something that may not be there: intentionality.  
technology  

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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fgary-edmonds%2Fputting-food-waste-to-work_b_11358280.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dgreen%26ir%3DGreen&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Putting Food Waste To Work  
Food for the Hungry (FH) has been working for over 40 years in some of the world's harshest places, and we've seen a positive link between the responsible use and protection of the environment and the chances of a family breaking out of poverty. It's a simple truth: when we care for creation, we care for people.

One of the creative ways we've been working to use earth's resources to help solve hunger and poverty for families, capitalizes on something we all have far too much of -waste. We've developed a project called keyhole gardens which puts waste to work.

It's a common story around the world, a woman is widowed and left alone with children to feed. "It has been very difficult to face life without my husband," said Dona Rutilia, one of these widowed mothers, told our staff in Guatemala. With no knowledge of sustainable agriculture, she couldn't adequately feed her two young children.

FH taught her how to grow a keyhole garden, a small, elevated kitchen garden that looks like a keyhole. This small plot grows nutritious fruits and vegetables that help conquer malnutrition by supplementing a child's diet with needed nutrients. The gardens are close to home so that mothers don't have to spend a lot of time and energy, traveling far to tend the garden.

On a visit from our staff, Rutilia was eager to show off her success. "As you can see here," she pointed out, "I harvest food for our daily consumption so my children grow up healthy and nourished. I also sell some vegetables to pay for other expenses we have."

What makes this type of kitchen garden so special is that at its very center - in that keyhole -- is a composting pit where waste remains are collected, such as peelings from bananas, sweet potatoes, etc., and gray water (used water). This waste decomposes and directly supplies nutrients to the soil through perforated mesh, like chicken wire.

It's lo-tech genius. By self-fertilizing one's garden, families can feed themselves and earn extra income. Meanwhile, communities worldwide are preserving grassland, soil and water from contamination and overuse.

The community is at the center of all our work at Food for the Hungry. Local experts tell us the types and varieties of vegetables that grow well in the climate where the keyhole garden will be planted. When nutritious produce is introduced that grows well but is not well known, we also provide recipes, offer cooking classes and hold cooking competitions so mothers can share what they've learned. As a group they support each other, putting what they have learned into practice. And someday, their grandchildren benefit too. When children grow up eating nutritional foods, that are readily available, they are likely to pass on those eating habits for generations to come.

Food for the Hungry works in contexts where there are high rates of malnutrition that puts kids at risk. By putting waste to work, keyhole gardens become a means to reduce malnutrition in children under age five. This is mission work for the 21st century: ecological stewardship that creates lasting impact that lifts up families and entire communities. A little garden goes a long way.

How to get involved:
Download Food For the Hungry's conservation and hunger e-book.

Learn how to build your own keyhole garden
Donate to help families like Rutilia's plant keyhole gardens

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvoices.nationalgeographic.com%2F2016%2F08%2F08%2Fconservation-of-ancient-fishes-reintroducing-the-alligator-gar-and-what-about-those-carp%2F&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Conservation of Ancient Fishes: Reintroducing the Alligator Gar; and What About Those Carp?  

Posted by Dr. Solomon David, research associate at Shedd Aquarium.

Gars and bowfin have been around since the dinosaurs; in fact, they've outlasted them. More recently, however, a modern creature has threatened these ancient fishes: humans. Misunderstood and much-maligned, these fishes were targets of eradication efforts for more than a century (1). Now, perceptions of these toothy predators may be changing. Recent interest in these “living fossils” has led to new research and even reintroduction efforts to bring back a lost species (2,3). All species of gars and bowfin are important parts of native biodiversity and ecosystem function, but could they also impact invasive species?

Their appearance hasn't changed much since the Cretaceous period over 65 million years ago. Gars (family Lepisosteidae) look like alligators with fins instead of legs, characterized by elongated snouts filled with sharp teeth, armor-like rhomboid scales, and the ability to breathe air. Shorten the snout (keep the teeth), add more slime and a bow-shaped dorsal fin, and you've essentially got a bowfin (Amia calva). It's no wonder these fishes are often considered less desirable than more traditional sport fish such as bass, perch and walleye. Because of their menacing appearance, misconceptions about eating valuable sport fishes and perceived lack of value (often considered “trash fish”), humans have historically sought to remove gars and bowfin throughout much of their range (1). Sometimes removal  occurred indirectly by habitat modification and subsequent loss of spawning grounds (3). In fact, humans have been quite successful in some areas; the alligator gar, the largest species of the group (they can grow over 9 feet long and weigh more than 300 pounds), was driven to local extinction from the northern extent of its range in Illinois by the 1960s (3). When caught, other gars and bowfin are often simply cast aside on the riverbank. It was once illegal in several states to return gars to the water alive!

Fortunately, perceptions of these ancient fishes are slowly changing, as new research and renewed interest from anglers are garnering a more positive image of these misunderstood fishes. For example, gar fishing guides in Texas host anglers from all over the world for the opportunity to catch (and release) a 200-pound real-life river monster. Earlier this year, scientists discovered that the genetic make-up of spotted gars can help us better understand human development and disease (4,5). Further, in an effort to restore what was lost decades ago, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is reintroducing the alligator gar to several Illinois rivers to increase biodiversity and create a trophy sport fishery.

There are seven species of gars and one species of bowfin, all native to North America, ranging from southern Canada to Costa Rica. As apex predators, what do they eat? Considered opportunistic feeders, these fishes tend to consume whatever prey items are most abundant in the area, such as forage fish, sunfish, and crustaceans. Humans, however, are not part of their diets. In fact, there have been no verified cases of attack (not even the giant alligator gar), showing that these ancient fishes pose no threat to humans. As native top predators, the question has been raised, could gars and bowfin also have an impact on invasive species such as Asian carp? What does the science tell us?

Recentresearch from Western Illinois University (6) showed that in some cases, shortnose gars and other native predatory fishes do in fact select for Asian carp, as young carp were found in higher numbers in gar stomachs than other prey items. However, a newstudy (7) showed that predation by spotted gars and bowfin had no significant impact on common carp populations. Many scientists agree that alligator gars can and do consume Asian carp, but the extent to which carp comprise their diet and the impact on Asian carp populations are relatively understudied. So, gars and bowfin are eating carp, and it's great to see a native species preying on invasive species; other recent examples include smallmouth bass preying on round goby, and lake whitefish eating zebra mussels in the Great Lakes. But, could gar predation on Asian carp make a significant ecological impact? The numbers suggest no. When discussing Asian carp, IDNR fisheriesscientists speak in terms of tons of carp per river mile. Alternatively, even a successful reintroduction of alligator gars may be only one or two fish per river mile in several Illinois tributaries (note: alligator gars are not being stocked in the Great Lakes basin). Vastly different reproductive rates are also an issue. Asian carp mature around age 3 and reproduce in larger numbers than alligator gars, which don't mature until they're about 11 years old and may not spawn every year. There are simply too many carp and too few gars to expect a significant impact. Time, research, and the fishes will tell us how gars and other native species may impact this gargantuan threat.

Regardless of their impact on invasive species, gars and bowfin are valuable components of native biodiversity and play important roles in ecosystem function. As top predators, gars and bowfin can help prevent overpopulation of forage fishes (such as shad) and stunting in game fishes (like sunfish), therefore helping maintain ecosystem balance (1). They can also be indicators of ecosystem health. Great Lakes spotted gars prefer clear, highly-vegetated waters, which in turn are prime nursery areas for other game species such as bass and perch; finding the gar can indicate good habitat for other sport fishes. Alligator garsare also migratory fish, relying on river-floodplain connections for spawning; successful reproduction and recruitment can indicate quality habitat connectivity for other migratory species.

Shedd Aquarium's team of research scientists is actively involved in studying native and invasive species in the Great Lakes region, as well as rivers throughout the state of Illinois that are home to ancient fishes like gars and bowfin. In our Great Lakesmigratory fishes research, finding bowfin and gars was an example of successful wetland habitat restoration, indicating several fish species quickly take advantage of newly available habitat for spawning. As we continue our research efforts in the region, we seek to find ways to protect native species from disappearing from their natural range, to maintain balanced ecosystems, and ensure sustainable populations for future generations.  While we are not directly involved in the reintroduction of alligator gar, this work can benefit ecosystems and species we do spend so much time studying.

A close colleague of ours, Dr. Jeffrey Stein of the Illinois Natural History Survey's Sport Fish Ecology Lab, is leading an effort to better understand and conserve these ancient fishes. As a collaborator on the “Ancient Sport Fish Project,” we are gathering data on age, growth and other characteristics of gar and bowfin species throughout the state. The primary goal is to evaluate the status and trends of Illinois gar and bowfin populations and provide managers with objective data needed to develop strategies for a sustainable [ancient] sport fishery. Since 2015, in partnership with IDNR, the team has tagged thousands of gars and bowfin and will eventually include alligator gar in our research efforts. You can follow along with #AncientSportFish on Twitter for updates on the project!

For more information about the reintroduction of alligator gar, listen to this podcast from the IDNR or visit their website. You can also learn about Shedd Aquarium's research on native and invasive species on our website.

 

*Shedd Aquarium in partnership with University of Wisconsin-Madison and Green Bay, The Nature Conservancy

References:

1. Scarnecchia 1992. A Reappraisal of Gars and Bowfins in Fishery Management
2. Illinois Department of Natural Resources 2016. The Return of the Dinosaurs
3. Thomas & Hilsabeck 2011. Return of the Giants.
4. Braasch et al 2016. The spotted gar genome illuminates vertebrate evolution and facilitates human-teleost comparisons.
5. Parichy 2016. The gar is a fish… is a bird… is a mammal?
6. Anderson 2016. http://gradworks.umi.com/10/11/10117282.html
7. Van Middlesworth et al 2016. Food habits and relative abundances of native piscivores: implications for controlling common carp.

 
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You Could Roll on La  

You Could Roll on Land or the Seafloor in This Fanciful Concept Car | WIRED

 
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Too Bad You'll Never  

Too Bad You'll Never Drive Nissan's Razor-Like Electric Concept | WIRED

 
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160807084101.htm  
Insight into why the universe is dominated by matter and why we exist  
New findings reveal why the universe is dominated by matter and why we exist and how matter and antimatter are different.  
astronomy  

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https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/8-14-august-2016/1000000-va-shop-designed-friend-company/  
£1,000,000 V&A shop to be designed by Friend and Company  

Friend and Company has been appointed to redesign the Victoria and Albert Museum's main shop and introduce a “new approach to retail”.

The new £1,000,000 retail space will be “more dynamic and flexible” than its predecessor and will “function in close dialogue with the galleries, exhibitions and events surrounding it”, according to the museum.

It will fit in with the V&A's FuturePlan, a long-term development programme, which has seen large parts of the museum redeveloped.

The FuturePlan also dictates the need for a more holistic visitor experience that brings hospitality closer to the collections.

The retail space is found on the ground floor and runs from the front to the back of the museum, meaning that most visitors pass through it.

The V&A, which put out a tender in March, is paying Friend and Company £96,250 for the work. Friend and company beat five other consultancies to the contract.

Friend and Company was unable to comment at the time of publishing.

The post £1,000,000 V&A shop to be designed by Friend and Company appeared first on Design Week.

 
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https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/8-14-august-2016/forge-long-lasting-partnerships-clients/  
How to forge long lasting partnerships with your clients  

These days, design businesses should be partnering with rather than supplying to their clients. Why is this a good thing? What does a partnership look like and what are the risks? And what can you do to move deeper into partner territory?

Why partnerships work

As a partner your position is more secure because your relationships are deeper and stronger, assuming you also add value of course. You are part of the discussion that leads to the work as opposed to your client coming to you, telling you what to do and you then working in isolation. As partners, you will solve problems together, which expands the scope of possible solutions and builds a better understanding of the relationship for each of you. All things being equal, partnerships should yield better returns for both parties in the medium term.

What does a partnership look, feel and sound like?

When you're in a partnership your client's problems are your problems. Their challenges are your challenges. You jointly own the situation. And most importantly, your client feels this.

If your client lost you, they'd feel as if they were losing a valued member of their team. Your remit does not end when you deliver a piece of work. You are involved in the outcome and also the follow up.

You give up some control over the outcome but you remain fully involved in the work. You know when to step back. You will hear yourself saying: “What I'd recommend is this, but it's your final decision.”

You develop better empathy. You can understand and appreciate your client's position without agreeing with it. This means that you can disagree and stay working together.

You add value in the run up to the work and afterwards. You suggest what could happen outside the scope of the work. This needs to be treated as an investment on your part to start with. You could make it conditional on the size of the project and budget for it by attaching a percentage of the fee to partnership building.

What to watch out for

Something to guard against is focusing all of your efforts on one person within the client's business. Doing this, especially with someone at mid-level is a risk. Given the fast staff turnover in marketing departments, should they leave, the relationship and the partnership walks with them. Similarly, at the top level, bearing in mind today's preference for consensus management, it is advisable to think both across and down the organisation when building relationships.

Be prepared to work harder. A partnership is an investment. This will mean extra work and quite possibly extra unpaid work. The pay-off is extra paid work in the future and better pay for that work.

How to move into partner territory

So how do you go about shifting towards “partner” and away from “supplier”?

It makes sense to start with your current clients. They are your most established relationships and probably closest to the partner status that you're looking for. They are a good place to test some new ways of developing relationships.

I spoke with Charlee Sully, creative director of The Usual Studio who has employed a number of partnership building strategies in growing her design business.

Create conversations: set up a time to speak, away from a pitch or piece of work. This enables the scope of the conversation to be broad and wide ranging which can lead to new ideas being discovered. Sully's approach speaks to this way of working: “When I'm in the midst of discussions around a potential piece of work, I talk about other things, not the quote. I'm not ‘pushing' on this all the time are you going to do it, shall we sign it, etc although I know it's important. I take a softer approach.”

Get interested and fired up about your clients: Sully says: “I engage and become genuinely interested in my clients. I've had training in journalism so perhaps it's this background that means I love to ask questions. My conversations often end with my client saying things like: ‘I'm fizzing with ideas' and ‘I really enjoyed meeting you.' That's how I know I've started to build a good relationship.”

Get comfortable with a focus on relationship and not stuff. Sully says “I'm comfortable with meeting people, despite being an introvert. I'm very open and I don't mind speaking about mistakes. I speak to clients almost as if I know them already and this creates a warm and relaxed conversation. I listen and you'll find me making notes. It's important that they lead the conversation.”

Create a budget line for your partnership development: base this on a percentage of what your client spends with you. That's your investment in the future. You can then measure what that investment has yielded at year end in terms of growth of income.

So you're all set to shift your relationships into partnership territory. But just before you do, there's one final risk to watch out for. The risk associated with being too successful at it. Sully highlights this risk.

“Often my relationships reach a level where people are sharing information with me that they wouldn't share with other business owners. They treat me almost as a temporary business partner. This means I have to be mindful of the boundaries of my relationships and make sure that friendly does not become friends.”

You may consider this to be a ‘high class problem' to have but if you're coming upon this situation, Sully has written a piece that clarifies the territory which I would recommend reading.

John Scarrott works with design business leaders and their teams on their sales, presenting and networking skills. Follow him @JohnDScarrott or find him at johnscarrott.com

The post How to forge long lasting partnerships with your clients appeared first on Design Week.

 
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https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/08/lost-cities-1-babylon-iraq-war-history-mankind-greatest-heritage-site  
Lost cities #1: Babylon how war almost erased ‘mankind's greatest heritage site'  

In the first of a 10-part series, Justin Marozzi tells the story of this once-mighty city in Iraq a microcosm of human history. Besieged by wars and weather, ‘restored' by Saddam Hussein, what has become of mystical Babylon?

Of all the world's lost cities, none surely can compete for evocative splendour, age or mystery with Babylon. Here on the desert plains 60 miles south of Baghdad, where the sun turns horizons into flashing pools of mercury, is where so much of human history began.

Land of the Fertile Crescent, bounded by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, this is successively the realm of Sumer and Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia, Mesopotamia and Iraq. Adam and Eve's Garden of Eden is said to have been nearby.

As to Etemenanki, the ziggurat of Babylon, of which Nabopolossar, king of Babylon, my father, my begetter, had fixed the foundation and had raised it 30 cubits but had not erected its top, I set my hand to build it. Great cedars which were on Mount Lebanon in its forest, with my clean hands, I cut down, and placed them for its roof.”

I laid their foundations of mortar and bricks and with shining blue glaze tiles with pictures of bulls and awful dragons I adorned the interior; mighty cedars to roof them over I caused to be stretched out, the wings of the gates of cedar wood coated with bronze, the lintels and the door knobs of brass I fastened into the openings of the gates; massive bulls of bronze and dreadful, awe-inspiring serpents I set up at their thresholds, the two gates I ornamented with great splendour to the amazement of all men. In order that the onslaught of battle might not draw nigh to Imgur-Bel, the wall of Babylon.”

A colony of pigeons landed among the high-walled ruins to rest in the sun and shit all over history

Related: Story of cities #3: the birth of Baghdad was a landmark for world civilisation

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Camilo Matiz, Miami Art Basel  
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http://thenextweb.com/lifestyle/2016/08/08/driverless-cars-kill-passengers/  
When should driverless cars kill their own passengers?  

With both Google, Tesla and Uber trying to get driverless cars on the road, the streets of the near future will almost definitely be ruled by robots. However, there is a world of ethical questions to be explored before all vehicles on the road are allowed to be driverless. To get started answering them, MIT Media Lab recently developed the Moral Machine. The Machine is comprised of a series of ethical dilemmas, most of them making me feel uneasy when answering them. For example, what do you do when a driverless car without passengers either has to drive into a stoplight-flaunting dog or an abiding…

This story continues at The Next Web  
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Chicago Harbor Light  
Chicago Harbor Light on Lake Michigan (© Tim Klein/Gallery Stock) 2016-08-07 [www.bing.com/search]  
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http://redirect.viglink.com?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fdr-travis-bradberry%2Fstress-literally-shrinks_b_11353274.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dscience%26ir%3DScience&key=ddaed8f51db7bb1330a6f6de768a69b8  
Stress Literally Shrinks Your Brain (7 Ways To Reverse This Effect)  


We all know that living under stressful conditions has serious emotional, even physical, consequences. So why do we have so much trouble taking action to reduce our stress levels and improve our lives?

Researchers at Yale University finally have the answer. They found that stress reduces the volume of grey matter in the areas of the brain responsible for self-control.

So experiencing stress actually makes it more difficult to deal with future stress because it diminishes your ability to take control of the situation, manage your stress and keep things from getting out of control.

A vicious cycle if there ever was one.

But don't be disheartened. It's not impossible to reduce your stress levels; you just need to make managing stress a higher priority if you want to reverse this effect. The sooner you start managing your stress effectively, the easier it will be to keep unexpected stress from causing damage in the future.

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." -William James

Luckily, the plasticity of the brain allows it to mold, change, and rebuild damaged areas as you practice new behaviors. So implementing healthy stress-relieving techniques can train your brain to handle stress more effectively and decrease the likelihood of ill effects from stress in the future.

Here are seven strategies to help you fix your brain and keep your stress under control:

1. Say No

Saying no is indeed a major challenge for many people. "No" is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it's time to say no, avoid phrases such as "I don't think I can" or "I'm not certain." Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.

2. Disconnect

Technology enables constant communication and the expectation that you should be available 24/7. It is extremely difficult to enjoy a stress-free moment outside of work when an email that will change your train of thought and get you thinking (read: stressing) about work can drop onto your phone at any moment.

Taking regular time off the grid helps you to keep your stress under control and to live in the moment. When you make yourself available to your work 24/7, you expose yourself to a constant barrage of stressors. Forcing yourself offline and even--gulp!--turning off your phone gives your body and mind a break. Studies have shown that something as simple as a weekend e-mail break can lower stress levels.

If detaching yourself from work-related communication on weekday evenings is too big a challenge, then how about the weekend? Choose blocks of time where you will cut the cord and go offline. You'll be amazed by how refreshing these breaks are and how they reduce stress by putting a mental recharge into your weekly schedule.

If you are worried about the negative repercussions of taking this step, try first doing it at times you are unlikely to be contacted--maybe Sunday morning. As you grow more comfortable with this, and as your coworkers begin to accept the time you spend offline, gradually expand the amount of time you spend away from technology.

3. Neutralize Toxic People

Dealing with difficult people is frustrating, exhausting, and highly stressful for most. You can control your interactions with toxic people by keeping your feelings in check. When you need to confront a toxic person, approach the situation rationally. Identify your own emotions and don't allow anger or frustration to fuel the chaos. Also, consider the difficult person's standpoint and perspective so that you can find solutions and common ground. Even when things completely derail, you can take the toxic person with a grain of salt to avoid letting him or her bring you down.

4. Don't Hold Grudges

The negative emotions that come with holding onto a grudge are actually a stress response. Just thinking about the event sends your body into fight-or-flight mode, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat. When the threat is imminent, this reaction is essential to your survival, but when the threat is ancient history, holding onto that stress wreaks havoc on your body and can have devastating health consequences over time. In fact, researchers at Emory University have shown that holding onto stress contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease. Holding onto a grudge means you're holding onto stress, and emotionally intelligent people know to avoid this at all costs. Letting go of a grudge not only makes you feel better now but can also improve your health.

5. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a simple, research-supported form of meditation that is an effective way to gain control of unruly thoughts and behaviors. People who practice mindfulness regularly are more focused, even when they are not meditating. It is an excellent technique to help reduce stress because it allows you to reduce the feeling of being out of control. Essentially, mindfulness helps you stop jumping from one thought to the next, which keeps you from ruminating on negative thoughts. Practicing mindfulness might even increase your score on an emotional intelligence test. Overall, it's a great way to make it through your busy day in a calm and productive manner.

6. Put Things In Perspective

Our worries often come from our own skewed perception of events. So before you spend too much time dwelling on what your boss said during the last staff meeting, take a minute to put the situation in perspective. If you aren't sure when you need to do this, try looking for clues that your anxiety may not be proportional to the stressor. If you are thinking in broad sweeping statements like "Everything is going wrong" or "Nothing will work out" then you need to reframe the situation. A great way to correct this unproductive thought pattern is to list the specific things that actually are going wrong or not working out. Most likely you will come up with just one or two things--not everything. The key to keeping your cool is to remember that your feelings are exaggerating the situation and the scope of the stressor is much more limited than it might appear.

7. Use Your Support System

It's tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To be calm and productive you need to recognize your weaknesses and ask for help when you need it. This means tapping into your support system when a situation is challenging enough for you to feel overwhelmed.

Everyone has someone at work and/or outside work who is on their team, rooting for them, and ready to help them get the best from a difficult situation. Identify these individuals in your life and make an effort to seek their insights and assistance when you need it. Something as simple as talking about your worries will provide an outlet for your anxiety and stress and supply you with a new perspective on the situation. Most of the time, other people can see a solution that you can't because they are not as emotionally invested in the situation. Asking for help will mitigate your anxiety and strengthen your relationships with those you rely upon.

Bringing It All Together

As simple as these strategies may seem, they are difficult to implement when your mind is clouded with stress. Force yourself to attempt them the next time your head is spinning, and you'll reap the benefits that come with disciplined stress management.

How do you manage stress? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

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