At least 210 passengers died in the recent South Korean Ferry disaster. The disaster seems to have revealed widespread corruption in the ferry industry.  No doubt a number of people will be held culpable for the tragedy.

But, what happened at the time of the tragedy?  Personally, I don’t believe the crew of the ferry is evil and deliberately told all the people to stay below deck in order to hurt them. I think they were in a very stressful situation, perhaps brought on by their own negligence, but one in which they were making quick decisions with much at stake.  Stressful situations, like this, can bring out the very worst in people, if they are not strong in emotional intelligence.

Stress tolerance “involves coping with stressful or difficult situations and believing that one can manage or influence those situations in a positive manner” (Student EQ Edge, 195). From this definition you can imagine one’s own belief in his/her self (self-regard) and one’s belief that one can overcome difficulties and prosper (optimism), also influence one’s ability to manage stress.

When we are under stress, most of us are different people.  Those great at interpersonal relationships, empathy and impulse control may unexplainably become poor friends, lose empathy and have outbursts of emotion.  Not managing stress leads all of us to act in ways not true to ourselves.  I believe that is probably what happened with the ferry disaster.  Stress led some people only to think of themselves and endanger the lives of so many.

What is your stress behavior? How are you a different person when under stress? Do you see it? Do your friends see it?  Can you see how stress is keeping you from being your best? The following is a tool you can use to help you develop more stress tolerance (Stress Tolerance Exercise)