Is Your Stress Mindset Holding You Back?

Is Stress Something that's always Negative?

Almost everyone wants to know how to reduce stress.

After all, stress can have many adverse effects on both our physical and mental health.

However, an increasing body of evidence shows that changing how we think about stress might better help us manage it.

Not only can this improve our wellbeing, including our mental health, it can also make us better able to thrive in stressful situations in the future.

How?

We can learn to do this from athletes.

The way a person thinks about stress, in general is called a “stress mindset”. Some people see stress as something negative and believe that it should be avoided completely.

Others see stress more positively and think it will benefit their health, performance or productivity.

This is not just a throwable comment or statement. Think about it again,

"Others see stress more positively".

Studies in the US and Australia have shown that people who see stress as enhancing experience greater productivity at work, better mental health and academic performance.

There are also links between a positive mindset and how people view stressful situations – such as seeing difficult tasks as a challenge instead of a threat.

However, until now, little was known about stress mindsets and athletes.

Given that athletes encounter stressful situations every day that they often have little control over – such as from the media or during a race, climb, jump, wave or match – the research investigated how athletes' beliefs about stress impact their mental health.

Collecting data from over 400 athletes from around the world.

Participants came from various sports and ranged from recreational to elite athletes.

Every person has a different stress mindset.

They found that athletes who saw stress as positive or enhancing were likelier to see stressful situations as challenging.

This was also linked to better mental health on average, including more energy and fewer depressive symptoms.

I love adventure sports; I'm no expert or professional; I fall off a surfboard more than stand; I run mountain bike trails and most likely go half speed.

Yet the thrill of experience manages the stress of the experience. I have paddled into some big waves that caused me stress, yet in an instant; I wasn't paddling out and paddling in to catch the waves. My stress mindset was switched to a pro mindset, a Buisness mindset.

Please note, of course, I do not intend to overlook or not consider how awful chronic stress can be and how it has a host of negative health conditions, so it's important not to depict stress as only being positive.

The research hit home to me, and my love of adrenaline sports that I do choose to process stress differently from other people.

How our responses to acute stress can be helpful, athletes are more likely to see better performance and mental health.

For example, if an athlete sees the stress of competition as useful, it might give them better focus and motivation to succeed.

If something works, people model, copy, and repeat it.

So building a business mindset in response to a stress mindset can impact our businesses; yes, of course it can.

Stress Mindset vs Business Mindset

While stress is often seen as an opposing force, it's essential to recognise that our mindset plays a crucial role in handling it.

By building a business mindset, we can change how we view stress and turn it into a valuable tool for success.

This is especially important for entrepreneurs and business owners who face a unique set of challenges and stressors.?

By adopting a business mindset, we can learn to approach stress as a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey and use it as a motivator for growth and innovation. With the right mindset, stress can be transformed from a hindrance to a catalyst for success.

Are athletes that different from the average person?

Everyone, if they "choose to ", can learn to change and adapt their stress mindset.

Studies have shown that in the average person, watching videos that explain the positive effects of stress and why stress happens can help them to change their stress mindset.

How many business owners adapt and transform due to having a business coach?

How many people transform their bodies by having a fitness coach?

(shout out?Ed Djafer , who is guiding me to lose 12kg, 6kg to go)

Do get a nervous stomach before a presentation, yet when the presentation has started, you feel alive and enjoying it.

Practice Practice Practice

The best way to put this into practice is to visualise your stressful situation and how you will respond to it, similar to what an athlete might do.

For example, imagine you're about to give a presentation at work.

First, acknowledge any symptoms of stress you might be feeling – such as an increased heart rate.

Second, welcome these feelings, recognising they're designed to help you focus and increase your energy.

Finally, visualise yourself making a choice to see stress as helpful and use these responses to thrive under pressure. This may seem difficult at first, but with practice, we can all learn to use visualisation to reinterpret stress as being helpful.

The same applies to business, how we respond to tricky situations as a leader, bosses, employers, and employee, the more we apply neutral or positive reactions and understanding to the case giving you

• The more Clarity commands Confusion?
• The more Control you have over Chaos
• The more Ownership you have, than Overwhelm

Stress is not always distress.

If we choose to accept and embrace the upsides of stress, it can improve our mental health, performance and productivity.

Research shows that athletes who view stress as enhancing are more likely to see stressful situations as challenges rather than threats, leading to better mental health and performance.

So, what exactly is a stress mindset?

Simply put, it’s the way a person thinks about stress in general.

Key Takeaways

> Viewing stress as something negative that should be avoided at all costs.

> Ask yourself how you can see and feel stress more positively

> Stress may not always be distress.

By embracing and developing in sports or business, having a more focused business mindset will enable you to enjoy the upsides of stress.

Improving your mental health, performance, and productivity.

Developing your Business Mindset will increase your inner performance, productivity and, ultimately, profit.

With practice, coaching and guidance, we can all learn to use visualisation to reinterpret stress as being helpful.

So, the next time you find yourself stressed out, remember that with the right mindset, stress can work to your advantage.

If you want to learn more about me and what I do for ambitious, determined leaders and directors and connect, I can run you through a demo.

This is me >?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/danielandersent/

Also find more here >

Thanks for reading - Dan :-)

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