A System to Properly Work With Streess
A major concern for people in leadership positions in dealing with stress. You have to deal with challenges that arise, uncertainty, relationships, time pressure, your own expectations, and so much more. In addition to that, there are also stressors that you deal with in your personal life. If you don’t have a plan for how you deal with this then it can lead to serious health problems as well as a decrease in work performance.
Here is a 3 step approach to working with it:
Your mindset toward stress
How you view stress makes a huge difference! If you view stress as helpful and necessary then your body will react to it in a much better way. Stress helps energize the body, provides alertness, and gets the body ready for action to meet a given challenge. It also produces Oxytocin which helps with strengthening relationships, empathy, and many other benefits!
The science backs this up! A study from the University of Wisconsin found that those that reported high levels of stress and viewed it negatively had a 43% higher risk of dying. Those that reported high levels of stress but viewed it positively had the lowest risk of dying out of all the groups in the study! I highly recommend you watch Kelly McGonigal’s TedTalk on How to Make Stress your Friend to learn more.
2. Preventing stress
Even with the right mindset you still want to make sure that it doesn’t become overwhelming. These habits and exercises are also good for your overall health. Here are my top 10:
Meditation
Breathing techniques
Practice mindfulness
Physical activity
Nutrition
Sleep
Going out in nature
Taking breaks
Social connection and support
Performing hobbies
3. In the moment
Ultimately stress will arise and it is important to know how to handle it. Here is a 5 step process.
**Awareness - have an awareness both of the cause/trigger of the stress and where you are experiencing stress within your body. Simply bring your awareness to it without trying to change it.
**Connect to the breath - allow yourself to breathe naturally and simply bring your awareness to it. Simply by noticing the breath for a few seconds your nervous system begins to calm down.
**Acceptance - accept this moment as it is. When we wish things were different than they actually are is when we suffer.
**Self-care - take time to do something for yourself. This may be going for a walk, meditating, or doing a hobby.
**Support - it can be very helpful to talk with someone about it rather than bottling it up. The body releases oxytocin which is key for relationships. The body is telling you that it is seeking connection.
I know that there is a lot in here but piece together what works best for you. Maybe it is having the right mindset, focusing on one area for prevention, and then using the breath when you experience it. It is about being proactive and having something in place so that you can prevent it from becoming an issue in your life. Better yet use stress to raise your performance and be at your best!
