Eight Keys to Minimize Stress in a Fast World

In one house Kathy is cooking dinner, a toddler is hanging from her leg, and the phone rings. Her boss has an emergency; she must work the weekend. This doesn’t stress her out as she knows things happen, and she can deal with them.

Across town, Terri’s making dinner and her children are fighting. She screams at them and feels tension all over her body. She can’t stand another minute and feels like running out of the house and leaving them to fight it out.

It doesn’t matter where you live, who you are, or what you’re doing, you’ll encounter stress – that’s life. And, it’s not all bad. We all perceive things differently; some people see things as more negative, while others are more positive about things.

Why do some of us thrive on stress and some of us buckle? It’s in our perspective about stress. We do better when we choose to rise to challenges instead of fearing or fighting problems.

Positive stress helps you operate at your peak as it encompasses your ‘fight or flight response’ and gives you extra physical and emotional resources when you or someone you care about is in trouble.

Negative stress is simply stress that we perceive as ‘bad’ and this varies from person to person. Stress becomes bad when we react negatively, and it affects our health and mental outlook. Over time it leads to immune disorders, strokes, heart problems, fatigue, hair loss and more. In our fast-paced society that’s always-on, negative stress is epidemic.

According to research, stress hardiness is a life skill we can learn, not one we’re born knowing.

Individuals who weather stress have many mindsets that help them cope and thrive. Here are some ideas:

1.   Accept change.

There’s no getting around it, change is inevitable; it begins in the womb and continues as our bodies, minds, and spirits change. The world around us does the same so if we accept change as a normal part of life, anxiety is reduced. When you know nothing stays the same, you can feel empowered and cope better.

2.  Have strong bonds.

Life can ‘sock it to ya’ and you’ll thrive if you have strong relationships. Social support during stressful times is the key; women know this and are more likely to seek emotional help. It doesn’t take fancy research to tell us that we feel better during times of stress when we phone our friends, go out with someone, or ‘vent.’ We’re not designed to bottle up our emotions – we need to know that our feelings are okay, and that we can survive a situation and get help with our challenges.

3.  Short-term goals.

Although we say we hate stress, a certain amount is necessary to motivate us to get up in the morning, work, meet deadlines, and more. This is good stress. We need a mission, and when we don’t have one, we wander aimlessly and waste precious time. Setting small daily, weekly, or monthly goals helps us feel more focused and less stressed.

4.  Long-term goals.

Most of us have a mission to finish something in one day, one week, even one month but do we know what we want to accomplish within five or 10 years? For a lot of us, thinking ahead like this is a challenge; we’re lucky if we know what we’re doing next week. However, you need to know what your purpose is – having a successful career, financial independence, spirituality, or a plan to change something in the world. Long term goals give us clarity and vision – something that can buffer us from day to day stresses; when we know what our long term vision is, we can set up short-term goals that point us towards the larger goal.

5.  Let it go.

When we begin life as babies, we see the world through our eyes and feel as though the planet revolves around us. Sometime around early adulthood (or maybe later for some of us) we get a rude awakening; we’re part of something much bigger that we can’t control. We often fight this feeling because we want to be in control, but in reality, we can only control ourselves. (If we have a mental health issue, we may not be able to control ourselves) Once you understand this law, life will seem less like a struggle; you’ll pay more attention to your reactions and stop controlling situations and people.

6.  Silver linings.

You’ve heard the quote, “Look on the bright side.” For most of us, we believe this but some of us who suffer from depression, sadness, or tragedy, this can seem preposterous. Instead of thinking negative, find something positive in a situation; you may not like the whole situation but if you challenge your thinking to, “What can I learn from this situation? What is the silver lining in this tragic storm?” If you find it a challenge to be an optimist, act like one. When something bad occurs, visualize a positive outcome instead of a disaster.

7.  Say No.

People get overwhelmed when they take on too many projects and stretch themselves thin. You need to focus your energy; when you do too much multitasking, you diminish your power and effectiveness. You also get resentful, angry, and impatient when you have too much to do and too little time. Analyze what you do in a week and see where you’re splitting your energy; if you eliminate a few things, you should feel less stressed.

8.  Exercise.

Nothing is better for stress reduction than exercise. We all know the benefits of being physical; exercise produces larger muscles, burns fat, adds to longevity, and gives us more energy…the list is endless. If you think you’re too busy to get physical, fit in 10 minutes a day. Even 10 minutes makes a difference and after four or five weeks, you may see enough of a difference that you want to make more time to exercise.

Stress can give you energy and vision or it can wreak havoc on your health and looks. Once you realize it’s an inevitable part of life, find ways to make it work for you.

Lisa Rickwood, B.F.A., is passionate about helping people slow down and enjoy their lives. She is the founder of Escape The Pace^®, a business dedicated to helping people live a happier, relaxed life while pursuing careers, raising families, and making their dreams come true. This was a spin-off from her highly regarded book, Escape The Pace: 100 Fun And Easy Ways To Slow Down And Enjoy Life. Lisa has helped dozens of professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives improve their lives by offering: seminars, play-shops, keynote talks, books, greeting cards, gift boxes, e-books, and an e-zine.

Lisa was born in Vancouver, Canada, and raised in the Okanagan in British Columbia. She has a visual art degree from the University of Victoria and is an accomplished international visual artist. She also spent years working for two large newspapers as an advertising consultant before becoming co-owner of a high-end menswear store with her husband on Vancouver Island. When she’s not at the store or working on her business, she’s taking care of her husband, two sons, and step-son.

She is a sought-after speaker and has lectured at colleges, Health and Wellness Shows, business networks, Rotary Clubs, and large organizations. She is a regular contributor to Woman’s World magazine as well as Synergy and Pure Woman magazine. She has been featured in Common Ground magazine and the The Berkeley Psychic Institute Newspaper. Two well-known U.S. authors will feature her in their books, respectively, Mom CEO and Less Than Perfect.

Lisa is passionate about being involved in a world-wide movement about work/life balance and was asked to participate in a conference in Seattle called: Take Back Your Time (www.timeday.org).  She looks forward to helping others ‘take back’ their lives.