Any business person aiming high is going to be stressed at times. But many owners/managers have learned positive ways to reduce stress. Here are a few ideas that may help keep stress under control.
1. Remind yourself of the positives
Usually people are stressed about just one or two areas of their business. If they only took a moment to look at the big picture, they would see that the vast majority of their business is going well. Make a list and refer to it frequently.
2. Clarify and prioritize objectives
Clarity enhances serenity. If you’re stressed by how much you have to do, get precise about exactly what tasks must be done. Once you’ve created your list put a circle around the truly crucial tasks. Most of the time stressed executives have exaggerated just how much they have to do.
3. Breathe deeply and relax
Take a deep breath. Then as you exhale imagine all your problems and stress leaving you. Do this just 3 times and your feeling of being stressed will dissipate significantly.
4. Focus on helping others
One of the most effective techniques for reducing your stress is to take the focus off yourself. When you start devoting time to helping others around you inevitably spend less time thinking about your own problems. It may seem strange to connect the two, but the truth is many people who are stressed in the corporate world are so partly because they are incessantly thinking about their own issues and situation, rather than others. We need to balance the two.
I hope some of these techniques help. By proactively acting to improve circumstances we regain a feeling of control and possibility. If we continue acting we soon get a change in our situation and the situation improves.
Please let me know your thoughts. gerry@polarisgroupmc.com