Navigating the Storm: Six Strategies for Surviving Stress
#LeadandLift | Episode 102
Are you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and exhausted from juggling the demands of entrepreneurship and life? You’re not alone!
Entrepreneurs, especially women, carry the weight of their businesses on their shoulders while managing countless other responsibilities. Stress and pressure are certainties in life. Getting knocked down by immense stress happens even to the best and most successful people in the world.
There is one thing that separates the truly successful from the rest, and that is how quickly they get back up from getting knocked down by stress.
As a high-performance coach, this is one of the most common challenges that I hear from my clients. Over the past few months, the theme has been mostly about stress. That is why today, I want to share a stress framework that I’ve created to help my clients. It might also be helpful for you so I encourage you to read on and think about your situation in life.
What’s that one thing that’s stressing you out the most right now?
To make it easier for you to apply the frameworks in this episode, I’ve written a short ebook (only 25 pages long) that includes the six strategies that we’re going to tackle today. You can get a free copy of the ebook, “6 Strategies For Surviving Stress” by going to www.leadandlift.com/stress.
What is Stress?
Recently, a client told me that they felt like they were heading towards a wall, that they knew they’d hit it, but they didn’t know what to do. Does that feeling sound familiar to you? If it does, then I have good news! You can change that feeling. My client was able to do it, and I too was able to change tough situations in my life. You can do it too.
We all have a different reaction to stress, each of us has different habits and uses different strategies when faced with stressful situations. One thing that can help with addressing stress is defining what exactly stress is.
Stress is defined as a physiological response to a perceived threat or challenge. When faced with a stressor (the thing that's stressing you out), whether it's a physical threat such as encountering a dangerous animal, or a psychological stressor, such as a deadline or a conflict, the body's stress response is triggered. This response involves releasing our stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which prepare the body for action.
“Stress prepares your body for action.” - Chabidaye Jaglal Ramnath.
When you feel stressed, that is your body is telling you that you should be doing something. In my case, I was walking in a forest the other day with my husband and two sons. They were walking ahead of me because I intentionally slowed myself down in order to admire the trees and appreciate the beauty of nature.
Suddenly, my husband and two sons stopped in their tracks, looking in one direction.
As I’m writing this, I am safe in my office and obviously far removed from the danger, but even just the memory is bringing out a stress response from me.
You see, they stopped, because there was a snake at the side of the trail - sliding over the leaves and going on its own way.
At that moment, I was frozen. I wanted to scream and run out of the forest but I knew that what I was feeling was a stress reaction. Because I knew what was happening, and recognized it, I was able to take back control and take a few deep breaths. I talked it through and moved in place, I didn’t want to continue going on the trail but because I addressed how I was feeling, I was able to help myself get over it so that I could enjoy the rest of the walk in the forest with my family.
“It’s okay, Mom,” my little son said bravely when he saw my reaction, “I have a stick. I’ll walk beside you and chase the snakes away!”
For the rest of the trip, I avoided going off the trail or walking on any logs but the good thing was that I still chose to continue onward, assuring myself that I was okay and that I was safe.
Physiological changes occur when we experience stress. It often causes increased heart rate and a heightened awareness. Stress brings out different feelings and emotions for each of us. At that moment, I experienced anxiety, but for you, it might be different. Some experience anxiety, some experience frustration, and some even experience the feeling of being overwhelmed.
There are a lot of different ways that you can experience stress but the most important thing is what you do when you feel those intense emotions. Think of the word “STRESS” as we go through the framework.
The Six Strategies For Surviving Stress
S stands for Stand up. If you’re sitting down at work or at home in front of a computer and you feel stressed, then tell yourself to get up and move.
If you’re in the office, the best thing you can do when you feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or stressed is to get up and walk away. Take a few minutes off. Change the environment you’re in. Seek out the sunlight, have a cup of coffee, and walk around. Do anything you can to change your environment at the moment.
T stands for Thoughts. Bring awareness to your thoughts, and listen to the conversation inside your head. What negative thoughts are coming up? Now, once you’ve acknowledged the thoughts, write everything down on a piece of paper and challenge each of those thoughts.
Counter every self-defeating thought with memories of your victories. Whenever you think about all your past failures in life, think about the fact that you’re still here right now despite of all that, trying your best. Remember the wins and the successes that you’ve had for the past few years.
Once you’ve recognized and challenged the thoughts, ask yourself then what actions you can take. What’s one thing you can start doing to improve your situation?
R stands for Relationships. Sometimes, we would be so stressed that all that we could do at the moment was cry it out. There’s nothing wrong with crying and feeling your feelings because tears can sometimes give us a new perspective. At the least, it helps us release the feelings that we have inside. However, the best way to handle overwhelming, tear-inducing stress is to open it up to someone else.
Share your situation with your trusted people, whether it be your spouse, your partner, your coach, or your therapist. Don’t hide it from other people. By talking things through, you might realize what your next steps could be. You might even gain a better perspective once you hear what other people think or even discover solutions that got others through a similar situation.
E stands for Energy. Be mindful of your energy when you feel stressed. It might become really low, in which case all you’d want to do is crawl onto the couch with a bag of chips, and some chocolate, turn on the TV, and escape reality.
It’s okay to take a break sometimes when you’re feeling stressed because a small break might just be what you need. However, you have to always be mindful whenever you are stressed because the actions you take in response to it might start forming a habit.
When you feel stressed, raise your energy. Go for a walk, do some exercise, listen to music. Do the things that lift you up and make you feel better. It will help you think of possible solutions to the stress you’re feeling.
S is for Set boundaries. Know your priority, focus on it, and assess your stress with your priority in mind. When stress happens in our life, it can set the mood for our entire day but only if we let it.
When you see stress invading your thoughts and shifting your day, then practice the framework and take back control. Recognize the impact that this stressor has on your overall life and your ability to focus on your priorities. Overcome the stress and go back to the things that you had planned for that day.
The last S is for strength. You build the foundation through the strength provided by your habits. What positive habits have you been practicing lately to deal with stress?
If you don’t have any yet, then I encourage you to download the free ebook and read about the habits that I’ve written there that you can start adding to your life.
When you hit moments of stress, you fall back automatically on your habits. If you form good habits, then you can get back up quickly out of stress.
“When you hit those moments of stress, we fall back automatically to our habits. And if you’ve been building positive habits, then those are the ones that you start doing. You’ll get yourself out of stress faster.” - Chabidaye Jaglal Ramnath
Speaking of habits, as a coach, there are six high-performance habits that I practice and teach my clients. These habits kick in when stressful moments come because I’ve been living these habits in my life every day.
Stressful moments can often cloud your vision like a fog but if you have the high-performance habit of clarity, for example, you’ll be able to quickly think through your options and slowly unveil the situation. This will happen automatically for you if you already have that habit.
Another example of a habit you can start introducing into your life is prayer. When stressful moments come, seeking wisdom, guidance, and comfort from a high power can help immensely.
The Ongoing Journey Of Managing Stress
“Managing stress is not a one-time task, it’s an ongoing journey.” - Chabidaye Jaglal Ramnath
As you continue on in life, as you continue to level up, learn more, and do new things, stress will show up in your life in one form or another. I encourage you to go to leadandlift.com/stress and download a free copy of the six strategies for surviving stress. It’s a short read, and a very helpful framework to go back to especially considering that stress is going to be a recurring thing in your life and mine.
Remember, you’re not alone on this path. Let’s rise above stress and empower ourselves in order to create a life and business that we love. You have the ability to lead and lift others on your journey.
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Author
Chabidaye Jaglal Ramnath
Coach
Hi! I'm Chabidaye Jaglal Ramnath, your Certified High Performance Coach. You know when high achieving moms in leadership desire more joy, fulfillment and confidence in their personal life and business? I deliver that through high performance coaching. I am so happy that our paths have crossed!
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