Is "managing stress" the wrong approach?
COVID-19 has taken the world by storm and created an unprecedented, stressful environment for individuals worldwide. The effects of COVID-19 has seen a flow on effect to communities all around the world, effecting economies, communities, social and mental health of individuals and families and of course, business.
How can you 'stress less' in a time like this and start to get your productivity and profitability back on track? And is "managing stress" even the right approach to take?
I have the privilege of working with many leaders, individuals and conscious businesses who are committed to sustainable lifestyles, practices and impact. What I see more often that not is that most people are frequently stressed and overwhelmed and have come to accept it as part of normal life. Discussions about "stress management" have become common in the workplace and people's desire to manage something that they don't want - stress.
Simply put your mind is society's trashcan. It seems that everyone who passes by stuffs something into your head. The best tip I can share is to manage yourself. What you identify as stress, fear or anger doesn't happen because of what's around you, but due to your own faculties not taking instructions from you. If your mind was taking instructions from you, it would create joy and peace not misery and suffering.
But don't just take my word for it. Shawn Achor in his Ted Talk ' The Happy Secret to Better Work' revealed that by engaging in these three simple activities for 21 days in a row individuals can actually rewire their brain to 'stress less'.
1 - Write three things that we are grateful for each day will actually train your brain to scan the world for positives rather then negatives.
2 - Engage in exercise and meditation daily to train your brain that your behaviours matter.
3 - Journal each day about one positive experience you've had. This will allow your brain to relive that moment and help you regain that sense of happiness.
One of the key elements of my 10 Degree Shift Model is to learn to “stress less”. It’s super critical and also scientifically proven that your intelligence, creativity and energy rise when you are not feeling stressed. When you stress less you are more likely to operate at your full potential, basically joy comes first, when you experience happiness and joy you’ll experience more success and flow, so start your day the way Shawn describes above so you can set yourself up for success. Just imagine if an entire community did this? Or your entire team or organisation?
Managers and leaders can also support their teams to stress less by creating environments where active breaks are encouraged, healthy snacks are offered and shorter meetings as well as encouraging people to take their annual leave or vacation. One of the casualties of COVID 19 has been holidays. Without the option of travel both domestically and internationally, many people have decided to postpone their holidays and so have continued to work through, even if working from home. This is going to become a real issue of burnout and fatigue in the coming months so I encourage you to encourage your staff to still take their planned leave and holiday at home.
Want to know more? Want to do less and be more? I have a couple of openings for my private one on one clients in September - reach out, book a 15 minute chat in my calendar and we can discuss further www.calendly.com/uqpower
What’s your best tactic or strategy for stressing less? Share below I’d love to know.