Isn’t focusing on reducing your stress a most noble goal? Absolutely, YES!
Yet stress is like a thief in the night.
It steals so much from us, right out from under our noses.
That sly anxiety you start to feel more and more often is negatively affecting your whole life.
Like a cancer we need to ruthlessly rid ourselves of negative stress.
De-stressing your life 101 will teach you to do just that.
Inhale. Exhale. Let’s do this together…!
Most of us don’t make de-stressing a priority. I get it, you’re busy! AND you’re driven to succeed.
But one key factor of true success is maintaining your sanity. Staying open to life and remaining relatively free of cynicism is rare in entrepreneurs.
You work so damn hard. Sometimes it feels like you don’t have a lot to show for it. Look back to the days when entrepreneurship meant something different to you. You likely correlated it with the word: FREEDOM. Instead, so many people create their own mini prisons.
There’s no boss congratulating you on a job well done.
Most of us fumble on without many cheerleaders inspiring us to keep going.
Isn’t it time to be your own cheerleader?
Start to make de-stressing your priority. Make it your job.
Aren’t YOU your most important client?
Taking care of your own needs increases your capacity to meet the needs of others. Nourishing what you love about yourself is key. In our society many of us have learned to pick on ourselves. You become your own bully. You put yourself down and create unattainable demands. I got news. That attitude is all a bunch of hogwash. You’re awesome, there’s no doubt that you are full of amazing characteristics. Focus on those. Let go of what you can’t change. Embrace the things that make you feel happy about yourself, and others for that matter.
Seek the support you don’t want to admit you need.
Being independent is a great skill, but being able to depend on others when you need them is just as crucial. Ask for help. Ask for guidance. Ask for feedback. Ask and you shall receive. Together we are stronger. All those cliche phrases exist for a reason! Step outside your comfort zone and let others share their gifts where yours don’t shine as brightly. This might look like outsourcing tasks that you aren’t amazing at or don’t totally love. It might look like asking a friend to watch the kids so you can get some down time, and in exchange doing the same for her when she needs it. It could be something as simple as asking your partner to cook dinner or make you a cup of tea. Whatever it looks like for you, feel encouraged that you have support, not discouraged that you can’t do it all by yourself.
What really turns your crank? Make space for it.
De-stressing means letting go focusing on the negatives. Purge those negative thoughts by immersing yourself in what you love. It doesn’t matter what it is, but its better if its in nature. Nature is so healing. Fresh air, the sounds of birds chirping and flowing water. It’s impossible to be in a bad mood when you go for a walk in the woods. Soak up the suns rays, power up your vitamin D stores, stand barefoot on the earth and remember to breathe.
Reducing stress includes nourishing your body with healthy foods.
Refined sugar and carbohydrates put a lot of unnecessary stress on our organs and digestive system. Remember Michael Pollans golden rule:
Make time to cook wholesome balanced meals. If your low on time, a great resource to use is healthy eating meal plans. They give you a well rounded plan for the week based on your dietary preferences and even make you a shopping list. Im a big fan of the ones by Emily at holistic squid.
Food addictions can easily form when were under a lot of stress. Particularly sugar because it gives a temporary rush of those feel good hormones we all love so much. Unfortunately it doesn’t last long but the negative effects sure do. The most prominent being chronic inflammation which can lead to joint pain, trouble focusing, parasites and yeast overgrowth, poor digestion and more. Ditch the sugar to de-stress your entire body.
Free yourself from the burden of an insanely tight schedule.
Feel like your working too much with no other choice? There is always a choice. Create a source of passive income. Everybody’s an expert in something. Nowadays we all have access to an ever growing marketplace. Why not take advantage of that and make more time and money available to yourself.
-Owning a dividend stock and collecting dividend payments
-Running a website and collecting revenue from advertisements or affiliates
-Creating and marketing an online course in your specialized field
Don’t become a slave to a lack of TIME.
Organize, prioritize, get up early, block distracting social media apps and email when its time to focus.
Be modest. Be compassionate with yourself. There’s not likely to be a time when you have zero stressors in your life. You might set a goal to have a nice epsom salt bath twice a week and totally flail because your so busy. It’s OK, don’t beat yourself up. Be gentle. Become your own best friend and make a goal to do better next week. Remember the reasons why it feels so good to de-stess. Make a list of activities that don’t take more than an hour, but that leave you feeling refreshed and invigorated. It won’t be possible to complete all of them in a week, but just having them around is a nice reminder.
Nobody’s perfect, we live in an intense world, and avoiding stress completely is impossible. Learning useful strategies to cope with stress is invaluable. Real success means feeling positive, free, expansive and healthy. Practice makes perfect.
What are your favorite ways to de-stress? Let us know in the comments below. And as always, sign up for my newsletter to get even more free tips on dealing with stress and creating a flourishing business and life you love!
Hungry for even more de-stressing? Check out my Energized Entrepreneur Program!
Learn the secrets to productivity that 92% of entrepreneurs and small business owners fail to recognize before it’s too late…
Dr. Alan Chong says
I’m so excited to announce my NEW Corporate Training Course for January 2016:
De-Stressing Leadership Corporate Training 1-Day LIVE Event!!! Check out our uniquely different approach to more than stress management.
Event page at: http://www.destressingleadership.com