10-10-10

In life we all experience stress. Daily stressors, like traffic or dropped toast, come and go. Larger stressors, major illnesses, major life changes, are often longer lasting. Working with teenagers one of my main goals is to help them find perspective. Yes, stress with friends is unfortunate but for some students not life altering. Failing one quiz is a learning lesson, not a mortal failure. This was all summarized in Suzy Welch's book 10-10-10 (http://www.amazon.com/10-10-10-Life-Transforming-Idea-Suzy-Welch/dp/1416591826).

Mrs. Welch is married to business man Jack Welch, and comes at the issue from a business perspective. In summary, she suggests reviewing if a problem will matter in 10 minutes, in 10 months or in 10 years. I will sometimes change the time frame, depending on the student's ability to conceptualize time. It has been one of the most effective ways I've found to help ground others (and myself!) in times of stress.

The next time we are inevitably stressed, I encourage you to consider, in 10 years will returning an email matter? Will spending time with your family? Will it matter in 10 months? Maybe, but really think about it.

And if the problem is traffic, the answer is no.