Making stress and anxiety work for you and your business
Karen Espley
Taking care of your operations so you can take care of your clients | Managing back office ops for growing consultancies allowing them to grow
I’ve just watched a great TED talk by Kelly McGonigal on stress and anxiety and how it is actually good for you.
You too can make stress and anxiety work for you:
1. Have a positive outlook – about stress
If you reframe how you think about stress/anxiety so it's a positive thing - it makes a massive difference.
I know that stress and anxiety is rather like Red Bull for me - it gives me wings. All that getting ready for flight or fight, turns me into a work horse and I crank through tons of stuff.
2. Having control over your decisions
High levels of stress aren't bad for you (unless you think so). Studies have shown that people who have high stress jobs, but have control over their work and decisions and are empowered, are 34% less likely to die than people in less stressful jobs.
This is good news for us business owners - we may well be stressed, but we are at least in charge of our destiny. So it's all good.
3. Talk to people
Reach out to others when you are stressed. Not only will it make you feel better because you've shared your concerns and thoughts with someone else, it also releases oxytocin which strengthens your heart muscles and makes you more resilient to stress.
4. Help someone else
Caring for/helping others reduces your stress. Whether it's doing voluntary work, or even small things like stopping to let a car out, all helps. Go smile at someone today. Other than confusing the bewotsits out of them, they won't be able to help but smile back thus making two people happy in one go and reducing your own stress levels. Win: win.
Wishing you the best of stressful days!
Karen
www.thechameleonguide.com
Neurodivergent coach, mentor and consultant. Helping neurodivergents flourish and thrive.
7yThanks Karen, stress and pressure can be used positively as they are part of normal life. Some of the techniques you mention can help people deal with the pressures before it turns to long term stress. The turning point for people is when they no longer believe they can cope with the amount of stress they are under. Once the belief has gone the slide into a chronic condition starts. This is the point where most people will need help. So as long as you still believe you are coping well then the stress and the pressure can be helpful in pushing you on.
Wealth Dynamics practitioner. Be in Flow, and Your Business will follow.
7yMany thanks for this article/TEDX recommendation Karen :) The first two elements sit particularly well with me, when I consider stress in an engineering or structural sense i.e. the tension between two points. The gap between where one is and where one wishes to be can cause 2 types of stress, namely unhelpful or even dysfunctional stress (for which there are all kinds of studies about the adverse effects on the body/mind; and smiling, meditating, breathing, being in nature etc. can help with that), and "structural" stress where holding the "tension" can help us come up with creative ways to resolve that tension and bridge that gap. Often resistance is a great way of recognising that we're close to a break-through - it's an indicator that the structural stress exists, and if we have the courage to hold that tension we are far more likely to find the solutions we seek. I also agree wholeheartedly with David's comment about having someone to share things with, especially as "solo-preneurs" Interesting article!
Taking care of your operations so you can take care of your clients | Managing back office ops for growing consultancies allowing them to grow
7yI agree David. Smiling at strangers is also great. It gives everyone a boost and costs nothing. And yes, it can be a very lonely place running your business and sharing really does help put things in perspective
Commercial & Property Finance Specialist at Lime Finance Solutions - NACFB Small Commercial Broker of the Year!
7yTalk to people is great advice. One of the most difficult things about running a small business is the isolation when making a decision. Having a trusted contact to refer to and talk through the things that appear simple makes such a difference. As for smiling at people. Do it, it is seriously good for the soul. Seeing someone smile because you said something nice takes you a long way, at least I believe it does!