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NATION
Too stressed out? Look to yourself

Is your life a nonstop rat race of fatigue, family, work and pressure?

If so, a new book contends the problem could be a matter of having lost sight of your personal values, doing a job merely for the money or pursuing unfulfilling goals when you really ought to be asking yourself what you consider important.

"All you have to do is decide to get back in touch with what you truly care about, with what matters, what makes your life more authentic," write consultants George and Sedena Cappanelli in "Authenticity: Simple Strategies for Greater Meaning and Purpose at Work and at Home."

Authenticity comes from honestly answering what you assess your life against. Is money the measure? The Cappanellis suggest asking and answering a few questions truthfully.

» Has my work become boring and filled with daily habits I do without real mental engagement?

» Is my job more about financial security than it is learning and enjoyment?

» Is my work more about achieving recognition and status than in adding genuine value?

» Do I really get what I want and need from personal relationships?

» Am I faithful to that inner voice and my gut instincts? Do I ever even listen to myself think?

» Do my daily activities improve the quality of my life?

"Think about the things that touch your heart and make you smile and feel good," they write. "This will lead you naturally to find more ways to support yourself and to start living each minute with greater compassion and happiness."

Wage gap greater in 2003

Same work, less pay. Women have been fighting for decades to narrow the wage gap with male workers who earn more while doing the same work.

And far from improving, an annual survey on the subject suggests that in 2003, women fell even further behind.

The National Association for Female Executives says its 2004 Salary Survey found that full-time female employees earned 76 cents for every $1 earned by male peers, down from 77 cents in 2002.

And it's the same for even the highly educated. For example, women anesthesiologists earned $64,000 less than male colleagues did; women scientists doing medical research earned just 71.3 percent of their male peers' income.

"With all the improvements we've seen for working women over the last decade, it's stunning that the gender wage gap should widen," said Betty Spence, president of the association, which is part of New York-based Working Mother Media. "But legislators tell me they're not hearing about this issue. Women across the country need to demand more aggressive action by government to combat these inequities."