30 WAYS
TO REDUCE AND PREVENT STRESS
by Josh Cearbaugh
1
such as the loss of a job, loss of a loved one, or encountering major health challenges. This is the kind of stress that we have to learn how to manage in healthy ways. Although we didn’t ask for it or create the circumstances, it now becomes our responsibility to not allow it to permanently disrupt our lives.
In our fast-paced world, stress is evident everywhere. It’s a mental, emotional, or physical strain caused by anxiety or overwork. We all feel stress and often suffer the results of it in some way or other.
What you’re about to read can have a significant impact on the levels of stress you experience. This post is not about how to deal with stress; it’s about how to reduce and prevent it. While some stress cannot be avoided, most stress we experience can either be made significantly less overwhelming or completely eliminated all together.
Most of the stress we experience can be broken down into three categories.
2
such as what we feel when we set goals, push ourselves outside our comfort zones, and strive to get better. This is actually good stress. Yes, you heard me right. I said GOOD stress. It requires us to dig deep and grow as a person.
3
such as being late to an appointment, having a communication breakdown in relationships, or procrastinating… just to name a few. This is the stress that may not feel like it’s in our control, but the truth is you can choose to change the way you manage your life to reduce or prevent this form of stress.
DON’T OVERCOMMIT
Whether in your personal or professional life, learn what your capacity is and be willing to stick to it… no matter how attractive an opportunity or relationship may look. Know when to say, “No!” Don’t take on more than you can reasonably handle. When you overcommit it causes you to spread yourself thin, which in turn makes you less effective at what you have already committed to in other areas of your life.
PRACTICE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES
Techniques such as meditation and deep breathing activate the body’s own relaxation response—a state of restfulness that is opposite to the stress response. When practiced regularly, you will enjoy a reduction in your everyday stress level, benefited by a boost in your feelings of peace and serenity, and increase your ability to stay calm under pressure.
When you identify and learn how to manage the things in your life that create stress, you’ll experience improvements in every area of your life—from your relationships, to your performance, to your health, to your outlook on life. They’re all connected. So when you begin to implement change in the way you manage stress in one area, it actually frees up your ability to manage other areas as well.
The realization that you are in control of your stress is the foundation to the first step in making a series of powerful decisions that will free you from unwanted stress. I invite you to join me in putting a different one of these suggestions into action every day. Be sure to pay attention to which practices are particularly meaningful for you and the people around you.
DON’T PROCRASTINATE
Putting things off until the last minute is a guaranteed way to increase your stress level. Start doing what you know you should do, when you know you should do it. Become a do-it-now person. Taking action is more important than having it perfect the first time.
CHANGE HOW YOU VIEW THINGS
Practice viewing stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Begin to ask yourself “what is the good in this situation?” Rather than getting stressed out about sitting in traffic, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, to listen to your favorite music or podcast, or to just enjoy some quiet time.
5 PRACTICE POSITIVE THINKING
The way you think can have a profound effect on your emotional and physical wellbeing. People who maintain a positive attitude and practice positive thinking experience less stress than those who are pessimistic and negative. We all know someone that is constantly negative… think about how stressful their negative outlook makes them. Now turn that thought toward yourself. Consider how your negative thoughts are causing unnecessary stress.
CHOOSE TO EXPRESS YOUR FEELINGS
When something or someone is upsetting you, learn to communicate your concerns in an open and respectful manner. Open communication in a relationship creates safety because people don’t have to guess how you are experiencing them.
9
PRACTICE GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT
Every improvement that you can make in how you spend your time, gives you greater control of your life and plays a small role in reducing your everyday stress level.
BE VULNERABLE
We’ve all been stressed at different times in our life. Stress is often defused when you talk with an intimate group of friends. It gives them a chance to help “carry the load”. When you don’t feel alone it often opens up the ability to tackle the things that are causing the stress.
TRY TO ANTICIPATE PROBLEMS
When issues arise, address them head on before they escalate. The best way to avoid big problems is by addressing them when they are small. When you choose to be proactive it makes you feel better AND keeps a small problem small.
DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM PEOPLE WHO CREATE UNNECESSARY STRESS IN YOUR LIFE.
If someone is a constant source of stress and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person, or end the relationship entirely.
STOP STRIVING FOR PERFECTION
We should push ourselves to improve and to always do our best, BUT we need to know when something is good enough. On a scale of 1-10, start shooting for 8’s and 9’s. Paralysis by perfection often robs what would be a good night’s sleep.
LOOK FOR THE UPSIDE
When problems and challenges present themselves, look at them as opportunities for personal growth. The next time you are faced with a challenge remember this African proverb: “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.”
SET ASIDE QUITE TIME
Block out time each day to rest, relax, and recharge your batteries. Look at your daily schedule and identify one or more periods of time when you can take a break. Do something you enjoy during these blocks of time. The key during this time for yourself is to do things outside of your normal routine that will make you feel refreshed, refueled, and rejuvenated.
EXERCISE REGULARLY
16
14 15
GET ENOUGH SLEEP
Getting a good night’s sleep allows you to rest your mind and body. When you’re tired and fatigued, you experience more stress than when you are well rested and full of energy. Lack of sleep can literally be the source of most of your stress. Set an alarm to go to bed. It may sound silly but it can drastically reduce stress and help you better manage stress that is beyond your control.
KEEP YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR
Smiling and laughing trigger an increase in endorphins, the brain chemical known for their feel-good effect. Increased endorphins will in turn, help reduce stress.
18 17
USE A “TO DO” LIST
Writing down everything you need to do in a prioritized sequence is a huge stress reducer. When you’re doing exactly what you should be doing in the exact sequence that it needs to be completed in, you will feel more at peace and more in control of your life.
BUILD INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS
If you put an emphasis on building intimate relationships, you will not only find greater enjoyment in life, but you will have people to turn to when things get hard. Spending time with these people helps you stay positive and encouraged because in stressful moments when it’s hard to see past your own perspective, you can lean into their outlook.
LEARN TO RESPOND, NOT REACT
When something upsets you don’t react in haste. Instead, pause and consider the best way to respond—a way that you will be proud of later. This is often easier said than done, but when you pause before responding it helps you convey what really matters. If a conversation or experience creates strong emotions be sure to take a breather. Try to pause for a moment, regroup, and reengage when your emotions aren’t so high.
PLAN AHEAD AND ARRIVE EARLY
We have all experienced the stress of running late for an appointment. When you have to be somewhere at a specific time, plan ahead and arrive early. It’s better to be early than late for several reasons, but reducing your stress is one of the big ones.
STOP STRESSING OVER LITTLE THINGS
So much stress comes from getting worked up over petty little things—such as the person driving slowly in front of you, or listening to someone who has an opposing view on an insignificant subject. Use your self-control to ignore the little things that bug you. You choose what you’re exposed to.
STOP EXPECTING PEOPLE TO LIVE BY YOUR RULES
Dealing with unmet expectations is a huge source of stress. Make sure you set proper expectations for yourself and others. When you set expectations for others, make sure they understand them. Take time to communicate your expectations in a way that ensures both sides are on the same page. Expecting people to fulfill your unspoken expectations is a guaranteed way to get unwanted stress.
DON’T TRY TO CONTROL THE UNCONTROLLABLE
Many things in life are beyond our control, including the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control, such as how you should respond to them. No one else is responsible for your internal world. So do your best to not be responsible for theirs.
GET ORGANIZED
How do you feel when your home, car, or workplace is a mess, or when you are working on a project and can’t find things? Take the time to get organized; then do the little things each day to stay organized. This ties into procrastinating and letting a small problem become a big one. When you let things go for a long time it’s a huge project to get them back where they should be, which is stressful.
LEARN TO ESTIMATE HOW LONG ACTIVITIES TAKE
Start tracking how long things take to complete. In most cases, the actual amount of time it takes to do something is more than you initially estimated. By clearly understanding how long an activity “really” takes, you can better control your schedule and commitments.
DON’T PICK UNNECESSARY FIGHTS
You know the type of things that cause conflict. Unless it is something important to you, learn to let it go.
LEARN TO FORGIVE
Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and we all make mistakes. Let go of anger, resentment, and negative energy by forgiving those who have hurt you. Being willing to express hurt and disappointment is important, but if you stay there and don’t move forward to forgiveness you could become bitter and stressed out.
UNPLUG
Take some time to unplug from all distractions. If you have a family, try doing a “technology free weekend”. Removing the influx of distractions and media (on a regular basis) allows you to regroup and focus on what’s necessary to reduce stress.
BE GRATEFUL
Take time each day to reflect on the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This will increase your happiness and help you keep things in perspective. Gratitude is a powerful weapon you can use to fight stress. It’s hard to be miserable when you’re grateful.
Learning how to eliminate and reduce stress is one of the most important skills you can master not only for your own health and happiness, but also because your stress can impact those closest to you.
THE CHALLENGE
Take some time and make a list of the things that cause you to feel stressed. As you look at your list, determine what points you can apply from above to help reduce or eliminate that stress.
As you go about each day, be aware of your stress levels and their sources. As an example, if watching the news impacts your stress levels, then stop watching the news.
If you find that some of your choices continue to create stressful situations, learn from them as you apply the tools you find helpful from this list so that you can better manage life’s circumstances from this point forward.
Josh Cearbaugh is a Life Consultant with a unique ability to lead people through transformation. With a combination of consulting techniques, he helps individuals to identify, and then dismantle, the crippling cycles where the majority of us find ourselves stuck. He has a passion for connecting people to their heart and helping them create practical strategies to change their lives. Most recently, Josh’s consulting practice is located in Redding, CA He met Danielle, his wife of eight years, in Mozambique while attending Iris Harvest School. They currently have two boys and a beautiful baby girl. You can find him on Facebook at: http://facebook.com/joshcearbaugh or visit his website at: http://joshcearbaugh.com
If you’re interested in scheduling a one-on-one appointment CLICK HERE
joshcearbaugh.com