The last time we talked in my blog entitled “The Art of Dealing with Stress in a Stressful Time” I had mentioned that I had written the NKE Exam on May 5. Let’s fast forward to July 5, 2012 at 11:30am. The results of the NKE would be emailed to me in exactly 30 minutes. Talk about stress with a capital “STRESS”.  I was trying desperately to remain calm, work hard and forget that my fate for the upcoming months would be decided in exactly 30 minutes, 29, 28… Oh who am I kidding, I wanted to vomit! So instead, I kept my cookies down and took my own advice.

1. I went for a walk outside, around the office building.
2. I deeply breathed in the fresh air, looked at the beautiful greenery around me and,
3. probably the most important of all, left my cell phone in my office.

When I got back to my office the email was awaiting me on my Blackberry. The results of which would decide if I a) could celebrate and enjoy my summer with my beautiful family or b) hunker down and start the long process of studying to re-write the NKE exam in October. So I bit the bullet and read the email. And re-read the email. And read it again. Wait a minute, did that say I passed? I PASSED! When the realization sunk in I did three things:

1. I yelled “YAHOO!!!” in my office.
2. Then I yelled “I PASSED!!!”, while jumping up and down, my arms in the air, also while still in my office.
3. Then I called my amazing hubby (@rossimichael) and cried my eyes out.

In those tears was the release of knowing I didn’t have to study again. But also in those tears was the celebration of knowing I had achieved my goal! I had worked hard, managed my stress, my family and my work and had been successful. The outpouring of celebration I received from those around me was wonderful. But best of all was the celebration I had with my family and the fact that they were proud of me.  I had been a role model to my kids in proving that working hard and believing in yourself helps you to successfully achieve your goals.

I have since been able to use what I have learned in so many ways.  The way I see and deal with stress at work is different. The way I try to deal with stress at home is equally different. I have also been taking more time to smell the roses and enjoy every minute with my friends and family. I have also used my time wisely in preparing my Validation of Experience portion of the CHRP certification. It has taken me a while as I have been repeating all steps for four HR positions. I submitted the information as I was typing this. Stay tuned…I will update you on the progress and if I was successful in 6-8 weeks. Let another waiting game begin…

On October 15 of this year I sent up a little prayer to those who were writing the exam. That they remembered what they had studied, that the questions made sense. That they felt they had accomplished a huge feat. Most of all that, when they finished they took a deep breath and were met with a huge hug from someone they care about (or a fellow exam writer, whichever is closer!). I hope they all did well and I also hope they have learned that they can accomplish anything they set their mind to.

Please take a moment and let me know what you have done to deal with your stress today. What are you grateful for today? What have you learned today? Oh, and take a moment to smell the roses (or your kids’ stinky feet, if you wish). This moment will never happen again.