This is a stressful, noisy time in our history right now. It’s a challenge for even the most peaceful leaders to remain serene. I’m going to walk you through some guidelines and field tested techniques that will assist you in alleviating stress and anxiety in your life.
Leadership begins with you. You must practice embodying, enacting and embracing who you are at your core.
Your core, in this context, is best illustrated by a quote from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick “For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all the horrors of the half-lives life.”
Beyond the boundaries of our shouting ego minds lives exists a quiet place where our inner wisdom resides. You know it’s your wisdom because it whispers vs. the loud screeching of your ego. We can all access our internal Tahiti any time we want to by staying in the present moment, feeling all our feelings, trusting the process and getting comfortable in the unknown. Over the course of the last twenty-one years facilitating transformational work with clients ranging from Pepsi to the City of Philadelphia to Mother Earth Products there is one pattern that has arisen from leaders and organizations over and over again. The one thing people are most afraid of is feeling their feelings. They try to escape themselves by building walls to numb their feelings. Defense mechanisms are the bricks that hold these flimsy personal fortresses together. Alcoholism, Workaholism, Obesity, Denial, Repression, Projection, Intellectualization, Compartmentalization are all functions of the ego mind. These defenses are rooted in deep wounds, insecurity and a scarcity mentality. You cannot lead from the ego mind it is not stable. We must be bold enough to dig deeper to heal the internal wounds before we bleed all over everyone.
To manage stress, cope with the onslaught of fear that is being hurled at us and not absorb the negative energy knocking at our doors daily we must have the discipline, courage and consistency to take care of our instruments, our bodies. Our bodies reflect what is going on in our minds. Simply put, the mind projects its issues on the body. To heal our wounds and navigate the atmosphere of discomfort we are all experiencing we must reconnect with ourselves on a deep level by being authentic, taking down the façade and practicing self-care. This is a time to reset, disconnect from the hustle and bustle, renew our connection to the natural world, to ourselves and to others.
World Health Organization Recommends the Following During COVID-19:
- Choose healthy eating to boost immunity
- Limit alcohol and sugary drinks
- Don’t smoke. It can exacerbate COVID-19 symptoms and increase your risk of getting seriously sick.
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day for adults and an hour a day for kids.
- If you’re allowed to go outside, go for a walk, run or bike ride while keeping a safe distance from others.
- If you can’t leave the house, dance, do some yoga, or walk up and down the stairs.
- People working from home shouldn’t sit too long in the same position.
- Take a three minute break every 30 minutes.
- Get your mind off the crisis. Listen to music, read a book, play a game or do a puzzle.
Field Tested Coping Techniques I Personally Use and Use With Clients:
- Meditation – even 5 minutes works.
- My favorite free guided meditation apps – Brain.fm & Buddhify
- Sleep – it strengthens your immune system, keeps your brain & heart healthy & promotes weight loss
- Three second breath – inhale while slowly counting to three, hold your breath while slowly counting to three & exhale audibly while slowly counting to three. There’s nothing that can fill a void within you better than an inhale.
- Make your bathroom a spa experience, light a candle, dim the lights and do a shower meditation. Imagine that the water is washing away any negative thoughts or feelings you have about yourself or events in your life. View this as an internal cleanse for your thoughts and feelings.
- Limit your intake of sugar, carbs, caffeine and alcohol. Anxiety increases in proportion to your intake of these items.
- Exercise – even 15 minutes can get your endorphins flowing and shift your mindset to focus on positivity. There are tons of free fitness offerings right now. Do a Google search, check Instagram and Facebook Live for offerings
What do you do to manage your stress?
