One of my clients recently told me she had a difficult time slowing down because she gets so much “energy from being stressed.” So, I just had to comment.
Actually, stress can give a burst of energy from time to time, however, you cannot do it over any extended period of time simply because it will do tremendous damage to your body, …..and sometimes kill you.
But, sometimes you may just get overwhelmed. If it just seems like “too much of everything to think about,” here’s a simple 3 step trick that works for me a lot, and for many of my clients when they’ve tried it!
- First identify. What is really stressing you? I mean all of it…. from the phone call with your Uncle Bob, the pressure from your tax lady, the presentation that’s due too soon, your dog who ate the mousetrap and the panic you’re feeling about your dog – and the mouse. WRITE IT ALL DOWN on a big pierce pf paper or yellow pad. Nothing is too big, too little or too unrelated. It’s a basic “brain dump.” Take 24 hours if you can. (Mice live a long time.) I’ve found that seeing what is taking up all that space in your brain helps crystallize the issues and relieve some stress in your head and heart.
- Then, classify. Things are usually related. You’re stressed about your presentation because you may not have all the tools you need (Canva, speech coach, etc.) so you’re stressed about both the presentation and lack of tools. All of that is one category: Presentation (but with sub-headings like Canva, Get a speech coach, etc.) We tend to stress over everything individually so you think of it as 5 different subjects to worry over. Often it’s only one or two or three issues that have several components. In this case, one was how to get a good presentation done. Another one might be about your dog. Just the one category of to take dog to vet will take of your dog and the mouse. Classify and bundle everything you can. Suddenly the 10 issues that made you feel so out of control have become maybe 3 or 4. You can handle that!
- Take action. Generally, we have a combo of only 3-4 reasons for stress. (I know, it feels like at least 25, but that’s because of the repetitive thoughts about the same thing over and over.) Once identified, you can now begin to divide into the first action step for each one. No more than ONE. That’s because if you do more, you know what will happen?
YOU’LL GET MORE STRESSED!!
But this is just one approach, so if you have others that have worked for you, be sure to e-mail me, and next time I’ll include it in my blog.
So, let’s reduce our stress!!…
IT WILL HELP YOU FEEL MORE FIRED UP!!
