Staff Enrichment Day presents alternatives to stress

The theme of UCCS Staff Enrichment Day 2011 was “You are the Answer.”

Some wondered “What was the question?” while others wondered what the fair-haired, open-mouthed, arm-waving child on a poster used to promote the event had to do with staff issues. Still others questioned the purpose of the brown paper on meeting tables along with crayons and picture puzzles.

It all became clear after Tamara Moore, director, Auxiliary Services Marketing, made her presentation to about 50 staff members in the upper level of the Lodge Wednesday morning.

“Many of us look to outside sources for the answers and happiness, underestimating the power and legitimacy of our own inner guidance and knowledge,” she said. “We once relied solely upon this as children and have learned to discount it over the years.”

Moore called attention to postcard-size versions of the poster, noting the child looked happy and enthusiastic. Because children experience and release their emotions immediately, they do not suffer from the stress that plagues adults. Children play and express themselves, Moore said, before inviting the audience to play with the puzzles and use the crayons.

She invited the audience to share personal sources of stress and how they deal with it. She asked members of the group to identify things in their lives that make them happy.

Adult responsibilities cultivate an environment geared to looking outside oneself for answers. Jobs, maintaining a home, raising children and generally trying to meet the expectations of others dominate the adult state of mind, Moore said. Ever-increasing responsibilities take people away from the “inner child” to create stress. She then explained her list of eight “Tools and Tactics to Reduce Stress and Increase Happiness.”

• Trust Your Gut. Moore said instinct is nature’s device for staying alive. Even with beliefs and concessions made to meet society’s expectations, a person can feel a warning from inside when some action or circumstance isn’t good. Trusting your gut is a self-preservation instinct, and a positive thing, she said.
• Power of Now. Living in the moment, even as children do, takes focus away from a past that can’t be changed and a future that doesn’t yet exist, she said. “We only control what is happening right now, at this moment.”
• Story Tellers & Mirrors. “Your life is your own story to write,” Moore said. Letting others write it for you is surrendering control, but using what others see in you to know yourself better is key to writing a story of happiness and positive results.
• The Art of Receiving/Allowing. Moore recruited audience volunteers to hug one another and concentrate only on the feeling of receiving, not giving, the hug. The demonstration was to prove how indestructible the link is between giving and getting.
• Gratitude. Moore noted that one definition of appreciate is to gain value or increase in worth. Being grateful and appreciating the good in one’s life is a positive thing, and recognizing it as valuable is enriching.
• Upstream/Downstream Thoughts. Another metaphor Moore suggested was being in a boat carried downstream toward one’s goals. Thoughts and actions purposely directed toward happiness and success carry one downstream while people focusing on negative thoughts push themselves upstream.
• Flip It. She said anything pushed on offers some resistance in the physical sense. This is also true of people in an emotional sense. People motivated by fear or frustration and who are stressed will only push back harder if you push them, Moore said. Diffusing an emotional situation diminishes stress all around.
• Act as If. Stressed adults have moved away from the therapeutic childhood practice of pretending, Moore said. But pretending confidence leads to practicing it. The philosophy of “Fake it till you make it” holds true, she said.

After a break for lunch, Moore repeated her presentation for another group of about 50 staff. She again engaged staff members to share personal examples of stress in their lives and how they deal with it.

“One staff member shared a personal story about relationships and being a single mother,” Moore said later. “Her loneliness was evident and she was brought to tears. This inspired other staff, both women and men, to share similar stories in support. Soon there was general consensus in the room that we are not alone in our struggles and many found relief in that notion.”

“Stories are a powerful tool for sharing information and generating understanding,” Moore said. “I shared my story and the insights I have gained in the hopes it would help others on their own journey.”

Moore said many people expressed their appreciation for what they learned in the workshop. She is organizing a monthly brown bag lunch for those interested in continuing to explore and discuss reducing stress and increasing happiness. Those interested may contact her at [email protected].