9 Effective Strategies to Reduce Stress and Enhance Inner Harmony This Stress Awareness Month
April is stress awareness month, and if you are reading this, there is a good chance you may be feeling a little stressed. That’s because 75% of people who have taken our core values quiz said they are currently feeling moderate to high stress.
But let me assure you that is okay. It’s part of being human, and you are not alone.
Stress can have some positive effects. It can help you grow, like when trying to build muscle. Think about when you lift weights. You stress your muscles and nervous system, and then you get stronger.
However, you can hurt yourself if you put too much stress on your body, try to lift more than you can, or do not take the time to warm up or cool down. (I have had to learn this lesson painfully, many times.😣)
Now, lifting weights is a situation where you have control over the amount of stress you experience. But most stress from things outside your control.
Maybe it’s the crushing demands at work, worried concerns over a loved one, or frustration from a noisy neighbor.
While you still get to choose how to respond to these events, it can be really hard to do that calmly when you’re overwhelmed and, at worst, freaking out.
If you are anything like me, it is super easy to be triggered by the smallest thing and then turn into a nasty human being because things aren’t going according to my plan. (Just ask MaryBeth 🫢)
Have you felt that energy?
You may be sitting at your desk, head down, trying to meet your deadline. Then your co-worker asks you a question, and you snap at them, sending them a massive dose of energetic venom just because they interrupt your flow.
And when it hits them, they think, “WTF? I was just trying to be nice by asking if you wanted to grab lunch. What a jerk!” 🥹
And then, after you come back to yourself, you regret it. When you snap because you are stressed, it can feel like something else has taken over your body.
I get it. It sucks to feel that way. So, I went on an intentional journey to learn not to feel that stress hangover and create more inner harmony.
Here is what I found…
When I am super stressed, the space between the stimulus and my reaction is very small, even non-existent. That SNAP judgment. 💣
However, when I consciously choose to do things that reduce my stress (aka align with my values), that space gets a lot bigger. Creating inner harmony gives me more time to ground and respond from a place of calm —the energy I always want to respond with. I know I will make good choices when I am in that space.
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Victor Frankel
Learning how to manage your stress is key, and the best way I have learned to do it is by activating my values of self-care and inner harmony daily.
Now, you may be wondering how you can do that. Based on our recent analysis of 2,532 people who took our core values quiz, I would not be surprised.
Self-care and Inner Harmony ranked among the Top 4 Aspirational Values. These are the values people said they wished they had. By activating them, you will reduce stress.
So here are my 9 favorite daily practices to reduce my stress and create more inner harmony through self-care.
- Meditation 🧘♂️ helps create more space between stimulus and your response. It also clears out a lot of the mind chatter that all humans have. We start our day with meditation to set us up for success. There are many different types of meditation, and we encourage you to find the type and length that works best for you. We enjoy transcendental meditation (mantra-based) and guided meditations like this one that MaryBeth leads.
- Breathwork 🌬️ Anxiety is simply excitement without breath. Next time you start feeling stressed, take a few deep breaths from your nose to your belly. Or, if you know you will be in a stressful situation, do a couple of rounds of box breathing beforehand.
- Working Out 💪 We store many issues in our tissues, and moving our body helps release much of that tension. Exercise reduces stress and stimulates the production of endorphins, which help foster relaxation. Choose an exercise that is right for you (running, cycling, swimming, weight-lifting, etc.), but remember to meet yourself where you are, not where you want to be. Overdoing it will have the opposite effect!
- Working In 🧘 While “working out” is about doing the movement to get your blood pumping and sweating, “working in” is about easy movements to get things flowing without raising your heart rate. You can also do gentle movements like tai chi, yoga, stretching, foam rolling, and walking to reduce stress.
- Sleep🌙Rest is required for well-being. Everyone needs different amounts of sleep, but most adults do well with 7 – 9 hours. You want to feel refreshed when you wake up in the morning. Not relying on caffeine to function. Create an evening routine to help your sleep.
- Mantras and Affirmations 💭The stories we tell ourselves can cause so much stress. However, we can replace negative thoughts with positive ones, and I like to start my day positively. So, after I finish my morning meditation, I use mantras and affirmations to reinforce the feelings I want to have that day. Mantra is a “mind tool” that’s a single word or sound that you repeat to yourself. Affirmations are typically “I am “ statements that confirm something to be true. Here is a practice you can try.
- Activate Your Values ❤️ Your values are unique to you and your intrinsic motivators. When you activate your values, life feels good. Take our free core values quiz, identify your values, and then choose to do something to activate them. For example, if Creativity is one of your core values, you may try doing some art or trying a new recipe.
- Focus on What You Control 🎯Worry less about things out of your control. You can’t control the weather or your client’s mood. Focus on what you can change, and let go of the rest.
- Nature Time🌳Invest time outdoors. It reminds us that life is bigger than our problems. I find this especially helpful when sitting in front of my computer for too long. Going for a short walk in the park, sitting in your garden, or doing an all-day hike all have benefits. Research shows that simply forest bathing can effectively reduce stress.
Everyone is different and unique, just like your values. Choose what resonates with YOU and leave the rest.
I have used a lot of trial and error over the past decade to find what works best for me, and I am still experimenting with different things.
You need to go on your own personal journey to discover what the best practices are for you.
If you are looking for a guide who has gone on that journey in their own life and now uses that wisdom and science for others, we can help. Comment below with “journey” and we can start that conversation.
When you understand how to manage your stress, life feels good.
So choose something from the list and see how it helps you this Stress Awareness month.
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