stress management Guide
How To Eliminate Stress Instantly Effortlessly In 10 Seconds!
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No matter where you find yourself on your career journey, you know by now that overwhelm is a natural by-product of success.
Whether you are employed, you are in transition to your own business, you just started off on your entrepreneurial journey, you have been in it for a while and you have an established business, you deal with stress every day (sometimes every minute)
Yes, sometimes, especially at the beginning of your business journey, stress is good. It drives you to work long hours, you get things done, you push forward. Then, after a while, the long hours, the endless emails and phone calls get to you. You find that the passion is leaving you, find yourself wondering why you got started in the first place. You lost your work/life balance.
You know that stress got to you if you frequently wake up tired or with a headache. Eventually this pain and fatigue drains your energy that you need for your business or job and your life. Unfortunately, you cant spend a day in company with others without hearing somebody complain about just these symptoms. Yes, I have been there and so have my clients. As matter of fact, there has not been a time in history where the level of stress has been greater than it is now, in our automated, fast-changing world of internet, emails, cell phones, instant messaging, and black berries.
Yet, living with too much stress for too long, results in behaviors that are opposite to the ones you need to exceed at what you desire most. Stress creates adrenaline, it allows for spontaneous, reflexive responses it enables you to react to stimuli. An effective business leader does the opposite. He/she acts based on careful thinking and analysis and calm decision-making. Pro-active behavior rather than reactive behavior.
My clients come to me for two reasons:
a) they want to grow a thriving business while they want to create a rich life and
b) they find that they work harder and longer hours for less return.
You might identify with that. Have you started feeling overwhelmed, tired, stressed, short-tempered and maybe even burned out? Are you coming home feeling worn out, short tempered and irritated? Your productivity is down. You know that you cant create a rich life, nor be successful over long term if you let overwhelm and long-term stress run your life.
Any career success, independent of your ultimate goal is not worth the ills that prolonged stress can bring on. My clients tell me that they cant sleep at night because they have so much to do, their stomachs hurt because they have to choose between picking up their kids from school and working that extra hour. Especially my women entrepreneur clients tell me how tired they are at night because they work two shifts, one at work, the second one as a mom and home manager.
Yet, what I also hear sometimes is a kind of pride of staying so busy, of juggling it all precariously high in the air. That to me, is great for a few short days because you have to meet a deadline or you are getting ready for some out-of town travel but over long term, this heroic and stoic pursuit of too many things at the same time, is certainly detrimental to your health and to your business.
When we confuse busyness with productivity, which is exactly what happens when we squeeze too much into one day, we actually lower our productivity, do it less well and have a lot less fun in the process. The most amazing part of learning how to manage stress in an easy-to-implement way is that you find yourself in your optimal learning and performance zone much more often than before.
Every time you practice any of the eight strategies I am teaching in my stress-busting audio course, youll find that your blood is returning to your brain as each technique is signaling to the body that the fearful, stress-inducing situation is over and the calm has returned. Research shows that we have a specific zone in which we work most productivily. Whatever time we spend outside of that zone because of stress and overwhelm or because we are multi-tasking or we are being distracted, is time spent in mediocrity.
In my book, The Art Of Succeeding By Design and its accompanying audio guide to enjoying your success stress-free, you will find that having a plan to succeed AND having proven stress-managing tools are the keys to accelerating your business and career while allowing you to slow down to life!
The technique I am teaching you today through this article (and the many other techniques I teach in my audio course) are the result of years of personal research of stress studies, my graduate studies in occupational therapy at USC, years of professional experience helping chronically ill patients reduce their fear and stress to facilitate healing and recovery and of course, my years of coaching entrepreneurs living very similar lives to yours. . Ok, onto strategy number One then: In my book, the first chapter talked about creating a vision for your life and business that is compelling to you. That you should align that vision with your values and passion, that this will help you jump out of bed every morning and take on the world. That this vision will help you overcome any obstacle that might be thrown onto your business path. That this vision will help you stay focused and on track. Whether you are employed or have started on your entrepreneurial path, I hope you have created a very exciting vision for yourself.
With that excitement comes though another challenge and that is: How do you keep your excitement in check and dont let it turn into a run-away train of late nights and weekends in front of the computer? I know that the excitement for my work, for helping business owners, for making a difference, for the privilege of using my creativity is the most exciting project I have ever undertaken but after a while, it also caused me to get a tight stomach or had my heart beat a bit faster. Have you noticed how your body reacts to your excitement? This energy is good but it needs to be channeled and used only when you ask for it.
Here is then a great and very powerful way to channel that energy. It can help you be more productive and reduce the wear and tear that this sense of excitement can have on your body. It simply has to do with breathing. Yes, you might be laughing (that would be good) but keep paying attention. When we feel stressed, our breathing becomes shallower. We start breathing faster and less deeply and ultimately only use 20% of the oxygen in our lungs.
The result is two-fold:
1) you only circulate a very limited amount of oxygen in your body
2) your body goes into defense mode because of shallower breathing signals danger.
So, what is there to do? Simple, stop your work for just a few seconds and start breathing deeply by inhaling slowly with a rise of your belly. Put your hand on your belly and feel it rise up and lower down. Breathe deeply, fully and slowly for about 10 seconds. That signals to the body that the coast is clear, the danger has passed and you can then reenter your high-productivity zone, that zone where you can think clearly and act rationally.
Easy, yes? Ok, lets practice it right now: With your hands on your belly, breath in, take a deep long breath; watch your hands as they rise up with you breathe in. Then watch your hands as they lower with your out-breath. Let the air out of your belly without losing your relaxation. Take another deep breath, and let it out, and one more, IN and OUT.
Now, how do you feel? Like the air cleared, like sanity returned, like a fresh breath of spring air entered your room? Its good, its it? So, remember, every time you start feeling overwhelmed with your to-do list, when you feel angry, when you are starting to worry about your business or career success, you have to deal with kids who dont want to cooperate, in traffic while late to a meeting, any time, you feel like it, take a few deep, calm, slow breaths and feel peace reenter your life!
Christiane Holbrook is the creator of the highly effective High Impact Business Coaching System, teaching entrepreneurs how grow thriving businesses while create rich lives. Get free material/tips (value $250 ) at http://www.LegacyInAction.com.
More infomation at WikipediaSimple StressBusting Secrets To Creating A First Class Support Team In Any Business
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Stress and an occasional sense of overwhelm is a normal by-product of a successful business. Yes, we are lucky to have all the opportunities that the business world presents to us. And yes, at times, it is impossible to make wise use of our time and resources. So, the result is inevitably: Stress!
We differentiate between primary, situational, short-lived stress and long-term, accumulated levels of stress. The purpose of this article is then to help you instantly with the first type of stress. To give you tools you already possess but we all dont utilize enough to create rich, balanced lives and with that eliminate the second type of long-standing, highly damaging stress.
Yet, this is not an overnight process as any transformation takes time, effort and commitment. So then, this article is about allowing you to find instant relief. To find ways to bust your sense of too-much-to-do immediately, within seconds.
I am going to start you off with a somewhat strange statement: Believe it and youll see it. This seemingly bizarre concept is now part of a highly success stress-reduction program at the Stanford University School of Medicine. For further education I recommend Stress Free For Good 10 scientifically proven life skills for health and happiness by Dr. Fred Luskin and Dr. Kenneth Pelletier. One interesting fact about the mind is that the brain has absolutely no actual connection to reality. It relies on chemical signals from other organs to decide what’s happening out in the real world. The fact that the brain is ignorant of reality is precisely what makes it so susceptible to suggestion. Harvard’s Professor Jonathan B. Cohen showed that imagining performing an activity, and even just seeing someone perform it, fires the same neurotransmitters and the same pathways as actually performing the activity!
In sports, visualization has been considered an essential tool for decades. In a 1984 survey of the 235 Canadian Olympic athletes preparing for the Games, 99 percent of them were using imagery. There’s no one who doesn’t use imagery, says Rebecca Smith, a clinical research assistant in sports psychology at the U.S. Olympic Training center in Colorado. No professional athlete has ever won first place by visualizing coming in last and yet we do this so often in our business world.
Since the principle is called: Seeing the good in others, what comes to mind for you? The saying is old but listen to it again: Seeing the good in others, is about seeing it in your minds eye, isnt it? How often do we prefer to blame others for our stress? How often do we love talking behind somebodys back more than finding the good in others? So, then how does that affect our leadership abilities? It should come as no surprise that our ability to see the good in others is a highly effective trait as the leader of your small business.
Why? Well, think about it. If we could regularly let go of our judgmental tendencies and make a 100% commitment to taking responsibility for our lives (which means NO blaming, ever), combined with an ability to see the best qualities in our team members, what would that allow us to do? Yes, you would see different results. Why, because as our attitude changes, our thoughts change, our body language changes. Those working for you will feel safe and when feeling safe, there is no limit to creativity and productivity. Do you notice the disabling effects of stress on YOUR performance? It is not any different for your staff. They also get stressed and even more stressed when feeling criticized and judged. It impedes their ability to work in their highest performance zone, for you.
I guess, you are figuring out what I am proposing here. Yes, a win-win situation! Seeing the good in others allows your stress level to go down since you consistently trust that things will get done and that everybody does their best, your positive actions based on this great attitude influences your brain, and as a crucial consequence your employees or support staff can keep working in a stress-free environment giving their best in turn.
Secret number 1:
Practice your compassion. Put yourself in their shoes just for a second. Do you really know whats going on their lives? Do you know if they are deadly scared of losing their job? Do you know if they feel empowered and equipped to do their job right? What do you know about their battle scares of life?
This does not mean being permissive and lowering your standard of performance. No, quite the opposite. By you setting the stage for an environment where fear and stress is not the driving force, you invest your time very wisely. Having a staff that lives with stress and fear is a waste of your money. Nothing gets accomplished, no new ideas come up, no responsibility is taken when fear and stress is present. If you want to create a team that is loyal, productive, innovative and equipped to take your business to success in a climate where an A team will be harder and harder to find, your efforts to practice compassion is essential for sustainable business success.
Ok, with that out of the way, I want to give you another 10-second secret:
Its smiling. Yes, you heard me right, smiling. So smile right now, hold it for 10 seconds. Really smile, laugh! Do you feel better? I do. If it makes you feel better, how do you think the recipient of this smile feels? How do you feel when you encounter someone who just for the fun, throws you a smile? Yes, I thought so pretty good.
Ok, practicing compassion and smiling more often, more randomly, more just for the fun of it, is then good for business, good for employee retention and good for your stress-management. The funny part is that you already knew all this, right? We do and still, at times, we forget. Why? Because we are stressed. Yes, thats why.
One person has attracted a much nicer clientele since her attitude changed, and another reported that seeing the good in people has significantly lowered his anxiety.
Remember, as far back as Napoleon Hill, the famous author of Think and Grow Rich said: Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.
Like they say: War is not the way to peace, peace is. Dont let your thoughts take you to a war zone driven by fear and doubt. Let your attitude guide you to thoughts that make you feel connected and you will reduce your stress level and make others feel safe and cared for. There is no possible negative outcome and lots of potent positive outcomes.
Do we need scientific proof for that? No, just give it a try tonight in the check-out line at the store or smile to someone at a red light, especially when you feel tired, burned out, foggy in your head. I can promise you that even a quick smile back will help your attitude at home with your family or your friends. Dont waste a minute, practice all of the above or maybe just one but do it and do it often. Stress-busting is guaranteed.
Christiane Holbrook is the creator of the highly effective High Impact Business Coaching System, teaching entrepreneurs how grow thriving businesses while create rich lives. Get free material/tips (value $250 ) at http://www.LegacyInAction.com
More infomation at WikipediaThe Handson Approach To Beating Stress
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Is it time that alternative methods of combating stress should be given a higher priority by employers wanting to get the very best from their staff, whilst protecting their productivity and profits?
We live in pressurised times, its not safe on the streets, our finances feel threatened, our time seems to be on a permanent fast-forward, and with recent events, the whole world seems to have been plunged into an insecure, knife-edge existence.
When we eventually grind through the traffic to work, it doesnt get a lot better, stress is on the increase, thats official, but then you dont need to be a social psychologist to work that one out. Ask yourself honestly, do you feel more or less relaxed at work now than you did five years ago?
Undeniably, for many people, the levels of stress experienced today are far in excess of those from only a few years ago, this is largely due to advances in technology and communications. Industry has also seen increasing competitive pressures forcing up personal productivity requirements, and our average working hours to further increase.
The UKs Health and Safety Executive recently reported that over 13.4 million days were lost to stress in a single year, costing British industry 370 billion pounds, - a huge chunk of profit spent financing our love-affair with stress.
The evidence behind the figures is everywhere if you look for it. Increased employee turnover, increased sickness absence, increased injury claims, managerial burn-out; this is going on in virtually every office, in every town and city nationally.
So what can be done about this modern day phenomenon?
Although by no means a total solution to workplace stress, many companies are finding the use of holistic therapies a cost-effective and powerful preventative measure to the accumulation of stress, and its many associated problems.
Holistic therapies have been around for centuries, but have only recently been adopted by businesses as a viable part of their stress management strategy.
In a workplace scenario, a large range of massages can be chosen, depending upon the specific nature of work being carried out and the logistics of how many staff are employed and the frequency of treatments required.
Many companies ask about the real benefits of holistic therapies, but interestingly, very few who adopt this method of controlling stress, go back to being without it as the benefits become apparent, both in terms of staff motivation and decreases in sickness absence.
The adoption of holistic therapies within the workplace demonstrates to staff that they are valued and that their best interests are at the heart of management. This is then repaid in increased productivity from energised staff, increased retention as staff value the treatments as an incentive, and a decrease in costs associated with covering staff sickness absences.
It is becoming obvious to most businesses that they need to rethink their strategies on coping with stress, and new health and safety regulations are making stress management a legal requirement. Holistic therapies may be just the kind of natural solution that can break the cycle of stress, and in the process, save businesses and the health service millions of pounds.
Phil Ashforth is Managing Director of Apple Creative Design, a design agency offering graphic design for print and web based in Preston, UK. The agency also provides marketing consultancy to complement their range design services - Look at his work on http://www.apple-design.com
More infomation at Wikipedia