Setting new habits: knowing your stress better.

As mentioned in our previous blog post, we are slowly but surely reaching for the end of the year. Time for us to reflect on what worked best and what worked less. You may see it from a project or achievement perspective but how about the way you have been handling stressful situations in your business and personal life? Here is a short outline to help you see how you have been dealing with stress and how you could change this starting next year.

Answering the simple question.

When colleagues, family and friends ask you how you have been doing and you find yourself answering, “Oh I’m so busy!”, for sure you are doing like most of us. Being busy has become a trendy answer to give. But even though this became an automatism, just think for a second how repeating that you are so busy strengthens the belief that you really do not have any time for yourself. So that even if you wished to “have” more time, it makes it more difficult for you to simply “make” the time. See the paradox? So If you want to be master of your own time, start by giving a conscious answer that goes along this more positive outlook: time is yours to spend as you decide and no, there is nothing trendy, nor relaxing, nor sustainable in overbooking yourself.

to be more in control of your time, describe yourself other than as a busy person.


Answering another simple question.

“How are you? - I’m fine.” Being fine is another widespread answer, which most of the time does not reflect at all how you really are doing. Start asking yourself honestly “how do I feel today, how do I feel right now?”. Even better, ask yourself “how is my body feeling today?”. You will come up with a whole new world of answers that are closer to your actual state of being and might help you understand for instance why it is difficult for you to focus today or why you lack motivation.

Responding vs. reacting.

Take a moment to bring to your memory stressful moments that you encountered this year at work or in your personal life. Can you remember how you felt in your body, what were the thoughts & beliefs running in your mind? How did you react then and was your response in this situation the one you would have liked to have today? Do not judge yourself for what is in the past. Rather try to observe and acknowledge if you often found yourself reacting emotionally to the hectic around you without much control or if you could manage to respond in a way that you would consider to be responsible, calm and confident still to this day.

Giving yourself time to breathe.

An all time favourite! Can you remember that you took a conscious moment for yourself to breathe deeply yesterday, last week, last month… this year? Right there, in the middle of a meeting, in the coffee break, in the bus, at the dinner table, at your parent’s place. Wherever you have been, whenever you experienced an uncomfortable situation, the anxiety before a presentation or feeling stuck in a discussion or a negotiation. Did you let yourself breathe deeply then? Just for a few breaths, focusing on the sensation in your body and allowing yourself to step back from the situation? It may seem like a simplistic solution, but breathing helps tremendously and can impact directly the way you feel by turning on the relaxation response in your system or getting you ready for action. But do not worry, if you did not use your breath to its full potential yet, be assured that it is never too late to try.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Then you are all set to get the good habits going for the New Year, feeling more empowered, resilient, in control and calmer, no matter what comes your way. Make sure to check our NEW YEAR specials, as a workshop at your company or as an event session to include to your team event or meeting,

Book before December 30th online, set up the date with us for January 2019 and get all the benefits of your NEW YEAR special at a discounted rate. We look forward to helping you make 2019 a wonderful, stress-proof and productive year.

And for tips that you can start using straight away, check our online videos on our Youtube channel.

Picture @Unsplash Jose Martin Ramirez