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A year ago, I made a trip to the village of my birth,
a small community in the Haitian countryside. I had
been away in America for many years, working hard to
make my way into the world. Along the way, I heard the
term "stress management in the workplace"
or "stress this" and "stress that."
While on
my island, I was filled with strange stories to tell...Stories
of markets
piled with food flown in from around the world; stories
of doctors who gave out pills to stop people from eating;
and stories of cars so abundant that they clogged the
roads and slowed the traffic to the pace of a bicycle.
Basically, I was telling them about the stresses of
America, and the lack of gratitude.
I told my
fellow villagers, “You know, American problems
come from having too
much, rather than too little. And because of these problems,
they have what they call stress. They take training
sessions called stress management” They couldn’t
believe me! They had never heard of stress before, let
alone stress management in the workplace. You know what?
I had not heard it myself until I came to this country.
Shortly after
returning from my trip, while eating in an expensive
restaurant, I
watched a woman send a Porterhouse steak back to the
chef because it had been cooked medium instead of medium-rare.
Later, I watched a man who was dining with her struggle
to decide whether to have orange sherbet for dessert
and stick to his diet or splurge on an ice cream sundae
dripping with caramel and piled with pecans. Does any
of this sound familiar?
You are not
alone. Many times, I am faced with such dilemmas. But
I see it as an opportunity to have an attitude of gratitude.
How do I do that? Well, I imagine a mountain of breadfruit!
Do you know what a breadfruit is?
You don't
often see them in American grocery stores. Breadfruits
on the outside look a little like a pineapple. But they
taste like a tough, extra-starchy potato. As a child,
I ate almost nothing but breadfruit.
The folks
in my village learned to cook it creatively. We boiled
it, we fried it, and we beat it to a pulp and dipped
it in sauce. But every day, it was breadfruit. My tongue
grew so accustomed to breadfruit that I ceased to taste
it at all. I ate it only for survival.
My stomach
was perpetually bloated as it struggled to digest all
the starch. I
suffered from constant indigestion, and parasites regularly
invaded my weakened digestive system. Those little creatures
were sucking the life out of me.
Have you
seen those children on CNN or the Sally Struthers commercials?
How did you feel watching the naked children with swollen
tummies and skeletal arms, ignoring the flies crawling
on their faces? Well, that's what I looked like in my
village in Haiti. Most people assumed I would die before
I reached adulthood. They even told me so.
So when my
steak arrives a little too well cooked, or I have to
choose between ice cream and sherbet, I don't stress
over it. I give thanks to God for the great fortune
I've had in America. When was the last time you took
a moment out of your busy schedule to really have an
attitude of gratitude for all that you have?
My friend,
take it from a once malnourished child in a poor Haitian
village. The best solution for stress management in
the workplace or your personal life is to simply be
GRATEFUL. Gratitude is the gateway to happiness.
Did you know
that it is totally impossible to be grateful and be
stressed out at the same time? Ah! Now grab a pen and
write down everything you should be grateful for. I
mean "write everything down," even if it's
ridiculous. Don't let your intellect slow you down.
WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN!
I bet you
enjoy helping out a grateful child—one who is
always thanking you and praising you for your generosity.
Well, that’s the way God feels, too. No matter
how bad things are, you still have plenty in your life
to the grateful for.
Besides,
if you think you are having it bad in this abundant
land, I have some folks in my village who would like
to trade places with you. And remember to create your
gratitude list. Trust me, don't dismiss this idea of
creating a list. It is the best solution to take care
of your stresses.
So, there
you have it. Whether it is stress management in the
workplace or in your personal life, that will take care
of it. Make a gratitude list and count your blessings!
I wish you incredible success!
I wish you
incredible success!
Rene Godefroy
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