{"id":72,"date":"2015-06-02T11:44:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T11:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/?p=72"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:07:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:07:25","slug":"stress-busting-secrets-of-top-performers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/?p=72","title":{"rendered":"Stress-Busting Secrets of Top Performers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it rains, you grab an umbrella. When you&#8217;re stuck in line at the movies, you (mostly) wait without starting a riot. Stress is no different\u2014you can try to ignore it, but the only real option is to adapt. The problem isn&#8217;t the stressor itself; it&#8217;s how we deal with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And let&#8217;s be real: stress is everywhere at work. Morning traffic. Inbox avalanches. Clients with <em>opinions.<\/em> Colleagues who think cutting a piece out of every doughnut to &#8220;taste it&#8221; and &#8220;save calories&#8221; is okay (no it&#8217;s not, you monsters!). And the classic Friday-afternoon crisis that shows up just when you&#8217;re ready to log off. Hiding under your desk might be tempting, but the smarter move is to learn how to cope like a Zen master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&#8217;s why we turned to the data. Using our <a href=\"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/corporate\/tests\/coping-skills-assessment-2nd-revision\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">COSA-R2 (Coping Skills Assessment)<\/a>, we divided 3,431 workers into two groups:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Top performers who are satisfied with their jobs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Poor performers who are dissatisfied with their jobs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then we compared their stress-busting strategies. Here&#8217;s what separated the &#8220;I&#8217;ve got this&#8221; crowd from the &#8220;send help&#8221; crowd:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Top Performers Do Differently<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Find the silver lining. <\/strong>67% of top performers can spot opportunity in difficulty, compared to just 39% of poor performers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Keep perspective. <\/strong>73% remind themselves problems are temporary setbacks (vs. 46%). They focus on solutions instead of spiraling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Practice gratitude.<\/strong> 71% count their blessings and celebrate wins, while only 45% of poor performers do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Talk it out. <\/strong>63% vent to someone they trust (vs. 21%). Sometimes the best coping tool is a coffee and a sympathetic ear.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Face problems head-on.<\/strong> 64% tackle issues directly (vs. 44%). Avoidance only feeds the stress monster.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Relax, on purpose. <\/strong>32% use relaxation techniques like deep breathing (vs. 21%). It&#8217;s not woo-woo\u2014it&#8217;s smart biology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Take it step by step. <\/strong>49% approach stressors methodically (vs. 29%). Define, strategize, adjust, repeat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Refuse to give up.<\/strong> 84% simply won&#8217;t quit in the face of challenges (vs. 59%). They may wobble, but they bounce back.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Top performers don&#8217;t escape stress\u2014they outsmart it. They reframe it, share it, breathe through it, and above all, refuse to let it run the show. The difference isn&#8217;t that their lives are easier; it&#8217;s that their coping toolkit is sharper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;re running an Employee Assistance Program (and honestly, you really should), stress management is a must-have. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/corporate\/tests\/coping-skills-assessment-2nd-revision\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">COSA-R2 (Coping Skills Assessment)<\/a> helps you see how employees actually respond to stress, the strategies they rely on, and\u2014most importantly\u2014where they could use better ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stress isn&#8217;t going anywhere (sorry), but you can learn to stay unshakably resilient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performance-productivity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=72"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":771,"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72\/revisions\/771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=72"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=72"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archprofile.com\/archprofile_blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=72"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}