By Tina Marie Jones
As business owners, we are accustomed to a certain amount of “stress” in our day. We become master jugglers of time and attention, money and resources to accomplish our goals. Over time, the juggling of all aspects of our business while striving to maintain healthy family and social lives can add up to feeling overwhelmed.
Stress is a commonly used term that can conjure up a picture of a person pulling their hair out or sinking their face in their hands in despair. Those forms of stress are easy to recognize, but there are hidden signs of stress that often go unaddressed, building to cause major mental, physical and emotional issues that can take us out of our game.
Recognizing stress in its subtle forms and knowing how to manage it can keep us moving forward with clarity, calm and steadfast momentum.
Beware of the “yes syndrome.” You know the drill; someone sees us in the hall and asks for a report. In passing, we commit to getting it for them and think to place it on our growing “to do” list. When our minds are moving in multiple directions at once and someone asks for something, we can automatically get into patterns of saying “yes” without really weighing the costs of adding another thing to our already busy plates. When we hear ourselves, or see others saying “yes” to requests in a hasty manner, this can be a subtle sign of stress. Mastering the art of saying “no”, or “not now” gracefully, is key to maintaining boundaries of our time and precious attention. Placing a deep breath pause before your reply and commitment allows you to slow down any automatic response that could add regretted tasks to your plate.
The list of tolerations grows deeper. In your mind run through the list of things you are tolerating in your life right now. Tolerances can look like things you have put off, conversations you may be avoiding, items that seem to always be on the “to do” list, areas of life that are “just good enough,” and those you have to “put up with.” Tolerances can add an amazing amount of stress to your day and create a hamster wheel of distractions in the mind. A great way to manage tolerances is to take 30 minutes once a month and write your list of tolerances down on paper, mentally visiting all areas of your life: your house, office, car, relationships, projects and health. Then set aside one or two tolerances a week to handle or enroll helpful people to knock out the list with you and feel your stress lessen.
Holding it in. We were taught that there is a right place and time for managing certain things and that there is a wrong place and time. Sometimes when we want to say something or address an issue it may not be the right place or the right time. We tuck it away waiting for the right time to bring it up. Despite our manners, not speaking up when our intuition signaled the need, builds stress. Learning how to acknowledge your insight and honor the situation, while requesting a time to share in an appropriate way, gives room for expression and keeps stress at bay. Simply scheduling a time to discuss something that crossed your mind allows the other person to know your desire to share and honors your need to speak up.
Physical Signs of Stress
Some physical signs of stress we may easily pass off as normal or simply a sign of aging. But as they grow from infrequent to chronic, we reach for pain relievers, therapy, or other programs to help us with the symptoms of stress, never addressing the root cause of the stress. This is like switching out the bandage and not healing the wound.
Physical signs include:
Low Energy
Inability to Focus
Memory issues
Easy to anger
Hair falling out
Weight gain
Headaches
Crying
Insomnia
Perceiving these signs as indicators of stress in our lives, and seeking appropriate means to address the stress or dissipate it from the body in healthy ways, will stop the building snowball effect of stress that can jeopardize health and risk our businesses success.
When we manage our subtle stress in more effective, efficient ways, the bigger things in life that could derail us, seem to not be so big. Taking up yoga, network spinal analysis, meditation, NLP, walking in nature, are some holistic ways to dissipate stress before it dissipates you. Here is to your peace, clarity and continuous momentum!
Tina Marie Jones, President, Tina Marie Jones & Company, Consultants, Coaches & Advisors.
