"By being prepared, organized, and managing my time well. Part of thinking three steps ahead is preparing for the unknown. Anything that needs to be done, in all eventuality, should be done as soon as it can be done. Plan ahead. This always allows for greater flexibility. I call them proactivities. I also take care of my mind, body, and spirit whenever I can. These are priorities for me. I also have a pretty good attitude, so that helps. You see, I also have a very objective and situational point of view. When things happen in my life, they just happen. They aren't happening to me. This is an important distinction. Just because I experience something, it is my attitude which informs the experience. So whatever happens isn't really happening to me. Whatever emotions an event triggers are up to me. I am responsible for recognizing those emotions and engineering my attitude and that experience. So I pay attention to how the stress manifests physiologically, and then I decide how to utilize that energy and channel it into something constructive."

The NSA has performed focused research on measuring stress in high-risk environments, and the effect it has on fatigue, frustration, and cognitive workload in real-time tactical cyber operations. "What do an air traffic controller, an emergency responder, and a cybersecurity operator have in common? The answer: stress from a high-risk work environment. Tactical cyber operations require speed and precision, and stress may negatively affect operational security, work performance, and employee satisfaction.

"Cybersecurity operators defend vital networks from all-day, every-day barrages of intrusion and attack attempts. The stakes are high - compromises of those networks can affect the lives and livelihoods of thousands, even millions of people. The talent that does this work has extensive, expensive training and employee turnover is costly. Stress in this environment therefore is an important risk factor, both for performance and employee burnout."