| More great tips to help you follow in the footsteps of highly successful people and combat stress. Following on from my last Blog, this finishes off the Top 10 Tips to help you learn to deal with stress enabling you to succeed in your life and business and be happy. Enjoy and watch the changes... |
Tip 6 The Sleep
Sleep is so important to increase your emotional intelligence and manage your stress levels. When you sleep, your brain literally recharges, shuffling through the day’s memories and storing or discarding them (which causes dreams), so that you wake up alert and clear-headed. Additionally your brain heals itself and the body flushes fluid through it to replenish it with nutrients and remove toxins. Your self-control, attention, and memory are all reduced when you don’t get enough—or the right kind—of sleep.
Sleep deprivation raises stress hormone levels on its own, even without a stressor present. And that’s why lack of sleep is a form of torture – All the parents out there will have experienced periods of lack of sleep with their kids, even without it being an obvious stressor. Remember that feeling?
Stressful projects often make you feel as if you have no time to sleep, but taking the time to get a decent night’s sleep is often the one thing keeping you from getting things under control.
Aim for 7-8 hours a night for optimum benefits from sleep. Too much or too little can have negative effects.
Sleep deprivation raises stress hormone levels on its own, even without a stressor present. And that’s why lack of sleep is a form of torture – All the parents out there will have experienced periods of lack of sleep with their kids, even without it being an obvious stressor. Remember that feeling?
Stressful projects often make you feel as if you have no time to sleep, but taking the time to get a decent night’s sleep is often the one thing keeping you from getting things under control.
Aim for 7-8 hours a night for optimum benefits from sleep. Too much or too little can have negative effects.
Tip 7 They Squash Negative Self-Talk
A big step in managing stress involves stopping negative self-talk in its tracks. The more you focus on negative thoughts, the more power you give them. Most of our negative thoughts are just that— thoughts, not facts. However the unconscious mind is a bit like a young child, and what it hears, it takes literally, so careful what you say. Once it believes you are that person (useless, hopeless at X) it will then do its best to be what you say you are. So careful not to let it be self-fulfilling!!
When you find yourself believing the negative and pessimistic things, you need stop what you're doing and write down what you're thinking. Once you've taken a moment to slow down the negative momentum of your thoughts, you will be more rational and clear-headed in evaluating their veracity.
I am pretty confident that the statements aren’t true any time you use words like “never,” “worst,” “ever,” etc. Ask yourself for example, “how are you the worst specifically?”, “Are you the only person to ever have done this?” or “Never, or just this time?” etc. Once you start being specific you will start to see what is really the problem. If your statements still look like facts once they’re on paper, take them to a friend or colleague you trust and see if he or she agrees with you. Then the truth will surely come out.
From this point I move my clients to the next stage to help them release any limiting beliefs they may have that are the root of these comments, along with any negative emotions and then install positive beliefs and values that help them achieve their goals.
When you find yourself believing the negative and pessimistic things, you need stop what you're doing and write down what you're thinking. Once you've taken a moment to slow down the negative momentum of your thoughts, you will be more rational and clear-headed in evaluating their veracity.
I am pretty confident that the statements aren’t true any time you use words like “never,” “worst,” “ever,” etc. Ask yourself for example, “how are you the worst specifically?”, “Are you the only person to ever have done this?” or “Never, or just this time?” etc. Once you start being specific you will start to see what is really the problem. If your statements still look like facts once they’re on paper, take them to a friend or colleague you trust and see if he or she agrees with you. Then the truth will surely come out.
From this point I move my clients to the next stage to help them release any limiting beliefs they may have that are the root of these comments, along with any negative emotions and then install positive beliefs and values that help them achieve their goals.
Tip 8. They Reframe Their Perspective
Stress and worry are increased by our own perception of events. It’s easy to think that unrealistic deadlines, unforgiving bosses, and out-of-control traffic are the reasons we’re so stressed all the time.
If you start getting into a negative spiral remember that we cannot control others or circumstances directly but we can control how we respond and feel about them. Because we are in control of ourselves and our thoughts.
So before you go into that spiral, take some time to put the situation into perspective. We tend to think in broad sweeping statements such as “Everything is going wrong” or “Nothing will work out.” When you do this you need to reframe the situation. A great way to correct this unproductive thought pattern is to list the specific things that actually are going wrong or not working out. Most likely you will come up with just some things—not everything—and the scope of these will look much more manageable, whilst reducing your stress levels.
If you start getting into a negative spiral remember that we cannot control others or circumstances directly but we can control how we respond and feel about them. Because we are in control of ourselves and our thoughts.
So before you go into that spiral, take some time to put the situation into perspective. We tend to think in broad sweeping statements such as “Everything is going wrong” or “Nothing will work out.” When you do this you need to reframe the situation. A great way to correct this unproductive thought pattern is to list the specific things that actually are going wrong or not working out. Most likely you will come up with just some things—not everything—and the scope of these will look much more manageable, whilst reducing your stress levels.
Tip 9 They Breathe
The easiest way to make stress intermittent lies in something that you have to do everyday anyway: breathing. The practice of being in the moment with your breathing will begin to train your brain to focus solely on the task at hand and get the stress monkey off your back. When you’re feeling stressed, take a couple of minutes to focus on your breathing. Close the door, put away all other distractions, and just sit in a chair and breathe. The goal is to spend the entire time focused only on your breathing, which will prevent your mind from wandering. Think about how it feels to breathe IN… and OUT.
This sounds simple, but it’s hard to do for more than a minute or two. It’s all right if you get sidetracked by another thought; this is sure to happen at the beginning, and you just need to bring your focus back to your breathing. If staying focused on your breathing proves to be a real struggle, try counting each breath in and out until you get to 20, and then start again from 1. Don’t worry if you lose count; you can always just start over.
A method to calm and centre yourself is to take 4 breaths in and 8 breaths out and repeat, until feel better. This will slow your heart rate down and also your Blood pressure plus many other physiological changes helping you to regain your thoughts and feel more positive again whilst dispersing any negative thoughts that felt as though they were previously stuck in your brain.
This sounds simple, but it’s hard to do for more than a minute or two. It’s all right if you get sidetracked by another thought; this is sure to happen at the beginning, and you just need to bring your focus back to your breathing. If staying focused on your breathing proves to be a real struggle, try counting each breath in and out until you get to 20, and then start again from 1. Don’t worry if you lose count; you can always just start over.
A method to calm and centre yourself is to take 4 breaths in and 8 breaths out and repeat, until feel better. This will slow your heart rate down and also your Blood pressure plus many other physiological changes helping you to regain your thoughts and feel more positive again whilst dispersing any negative thoughts that felt as though they were previously stuck in your brain.
Tip 10 They Use Their Support System
It’s tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To be calm and productive, you need to recognize your weaknesses and ask for help or seek outside expertise when you need it. Delegate… Delegate… Delegate!
Additionally stopping feeling you are alone is helpful. Something as simple as talking about your worries will provide an outlet for your anxiety and stress and supply you with a new perspective on the situation. So long as you don’t keep reliving the negative situation and validating the reason why you think you are a failure! Be careful. Use it as a way to gain perspective and not to chastise yourself.
Most of the time, other people can see a solution that you can’t because they are not as emotionally invested in the situation. Asking for help will help reduce your stress and strengthen your relationships with those you rely upon.
Additionally stopping feeling you are alone is helpful. Something as simple as talking about your worries will provide an outlet for your anxiety and stress and supply you with a new perspective on the situation. So long as you don’t keep reliving the negative situation and validating the reason why you think you are a failure! Be careful. Use it as a way to gain perspective and not to chastise yourself.
Most of the time, other people can see a solution that you can’t because they are not as emotionally invested in the situation. Asking for help will help reduce your stress and strengthen your relationships with those you rely upon.
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