10 Stress-Busting Big Shots (P1)

Hello! I'm celebrating my 30th year of teaching individuals, coaches, students and organizations how to reduce stress, and how to help others do the same. All along the way, one question consistently arises during one-to-one chats about my work. Can you guess what it is?

"What's the best thing I can do to reduce my stress?"

Not surprising, and in my early days, I would hesitate a little before responding with something like, "Well, it's hard to answer that question without knowing more about you, such as what's causing your stress." That response wasn't wrong, but considering these interactions were usually brief conference or cocktail party conversations, it was largely ineffective. I eventually decided it would be more impactful to offer a few stress-busting 'heavy hitters' to help them regardless of the sources of their stress.

But, until now, I had never written down and shared these foundational stress-busting, resilience-building essentials. Here's the first half of the list:

1. Do what works

What’s one reliable stress reducer for? you? Is it running, cooking, reading, meditation, 7 hours of sleep, or something else? Whatever your answer, do everything you can to do this one stress buster today and every day because it works to counterbalance the effects of your stress.

2. Strengthen your sleep

Stress hates good sleep, so do everything you can to strengthen your sleep quality and quantity, including going to sleep and waking at the same times every day, sleeping in a cool, dark and quiet space, and even having a back-up place to snooze if a bed mate regularly wakes you.

3. Start or expand your exercise

There are few activities more beneficial for health and stress reduction than aerobics. If you don’t exercise at all, start small with a two-minute brisk walk or something similar today. If you're already an aerobic exerciser, consider adding a few minutes or variations to your routine. When it comes to aerobic activity, regularity and consistency are key.

4. Join or start a group

What are you really interested in? An author, artist, craft, language or helping people in need? Search for a group of others with similar interests, or start one if you can’t find one that matches your likes. You’ll learn, establish connections and become part of a community, all of which are important mental health supports for all of us.

5. Re-think and re-act

This is one of the more challenging tips here, but it can have a huge positive impact. When you feel upset about something, or something doesn’t go your way, or someone wrongs you, think about how you could think or act differently to make the stressor you’re dealing with less stressful and even beneficial. For example, can you take a different route to prevent the stress of daily commuting congestion? Might an unsuccessful sales pitch cause you to develop a stronger, more successful approach for future opportunities? Could you consider what could be contributing to a friend or stranger’s disrespect? Maybe they are dealing with a lot of stress themselves, or they never had empathetic role models, or perhaps their dog died yesterday.

The remaining five stress-busting big shots are just as powerful and I'll include them in the next newsletter. Until then, work on one of the above, share them with those you support, and thanks for stopping by The Chill Factory!

Jordan