Stress is Never Ending!

You jump out of bed after hearing your alarm blast from the bedside table…race to dress while the coffee is brewing…scramble to feed the pets after almost tripping over their water bowls and stepping on the cat’s tail…sit down for 2 minutes to listen to last night’s local shootings on the news…hop into your car and face the 40 minute commute to travel 10 kilometres to your office building…all before 8:30am!!! Does this stress filled scenario sound familiar to you?

Let’s face it, life is full of stress; we’re all expected to accomplish 50% more in half the time…so what can we do to minimize our stress, besides exercise more and eat whole foods (which I talk about a lot)?

Stress can really take a toll on the healthy lifestyle you are trying to build for yourself.

1. Take action.

OK, you have a problem that’s causing you stress. The first step is to make a plan to solve the issue. For complicated problems, you may have to map out your action steps for a few months, simpler issues may only take a few days. The point is, creating an achievable action plan will help minimize your stress. Making small, measurable progress is very helpful.

2. Focus and give yourself time.

We’re all rushing around trying to do five things at once. STOP. Multi-tasking causes stress, wastes time and leads to more mistakes. Try completing one task at a time, and really focus on it. Always give yourself more time than you think you’ll need to complete something and you’ll be constantly impressed with yourself and ahead of schedule. Something small that I’ve started doing is aiming to be 5 minutes early to where I need to be. This small change has led me to being right on time for most engagements versus being 5 minutes late. I also feel less stressed in the crazy Toronto traffic with this new habit.

3. Learn from everything life throws at you.

Bad things do happen to good people – don’t believe the universe is out to get you. Believe that everything that happens in your life, happens for a reason. Take the time to understand the life lesson from everything you go through and how what you’ve just learned, can help you in the future.

4. Focus on what you can control.

If you can’t control it, don’t worry about it. Focusing on only things you can control puts you in the driver’s seat and makes you feel more in control of your life. You’ll spend your time and energy working through challenges that you can truly resolve which will help focus and de-stress you.

In conclusion, the stress in our lives isn’t going away. Action plans, giving ourselves enough time, a desire for continuous learning and focusing on what we can control will lessen the impact stress has on our everyday lives.

Please connect with me if you have any other stress busting tips!