Stress Management Solutions

This Week's Topic: Stress Management Solutions Dear Friend,   Rule 1. Don't sweat the small stuff. Rule 2. It's all small stuff. Rule 3. If you can't fight or flee, then flow.   This week we are going to connect the six mental and emotional responses to stress we discussed last week to some tips for stress management. A how-to if you will of applying your responses to stress management techniques. If you tend to Over-generalize - you see a specific event as a never ending pattern of defeat, then try: Positive Thinking - choose your thoughts, focus on the positive, and surround yourself with people who can help you contextualize this "defeat" or "circumstance" Talking with people who really listen to and understand you For example a client of mine was given two options: move the store to a different location or move to a different space in the current building. She came to me to help her make a decision and put the options into perspective. Additionally through our work together she arrived that this was "a blessing in disguise." Oh yeah and she saved one month's rent, too! If you tend to Hyper-focus - you pick a specific detail and focus on it exclusively, then try: Enlarging Your Focus - see the forest rather than the trees! Meditating - clear your mind Deep Breathing - clear your body Exercising/Yoga - clear your body Laughing - clear your mind and body If you tend to Emotionally Reason - you assume that your negative feelings reflect the ways things really are, then try: Sleeping - allows us to have a more clear and more realistic perspective Laughing - there is humor in thinking that every situation is exactly as you currently see it If you tend to Self-Blame - hold yourself responsible for something that isn't entirely in your control, then try: Mindfulness - consider how much control and power you had over the situation. Positive Affirmations - create an affirmation of what you are doing right. For example, a client of my was bearing a lot of burden for how much her clients investment accounts had fallen. By reframing and reassessing the situation she was able to realize that in reality she didn't have much control over how much the portfolios had fallen and her clients accounts had fallen less than the average clients account. Sometimes we can bear the weight of the world on our shoulders, but unfortunately we don't control the world. If you tend to be Helpless - you fail to see your choices, then try: Exercising/Yoga - create a shift in your activities and do something new. New activities give us new perspective. Mindfulness - become conscious of your unconscious - remember we all have all the answers we just need to tap into them. Use this technique to connect with your unconscious. Talking with someone who will really listen to you and who understands you. They may be able to help you see your options. If you tend to be a Perfectionist - you expect too much from yourself and others, then try: Recognizing your limits and accepting them - we all have limits and expecting perfection isn't reasonable or fair to yourself or those around you. Positive Thinking Positive Affirmations Make It Happen Use these techniques to help you when you are feeling stressed out. Remember there are no "right ways" to manage your stress. Try a variety of exercises and see what works best for you. Allow yourself the grace to play a little ... bring the child-like wonderment out to play and that will be a strong first step in managing your stress and your responses to stress. Review this list of tips and see which work for you!   Tips for Stress Management 1.    Exercising 2.    Deep Breathing - the act of breathing deeply into your lungs by flexing your diaphragm rather than breathing shallowly 3.    Meditating 4.    Positive Thinking - the practice of embracing the affirmative in our thoughts, our feelings, our reactions and our speech. 5.    Yoga - is a physical and mental practice of examining and moving the mind and body. 6.    Sleeping 7.    Laughing 8.    Talking with people who really listen to and understand you 9.    Recognizing your limits and accepting them 10.   Mindfulness - is a mental state characterized by calm awareness of one's body functions, feelings and consciousness 11.   Positive Affirmations - create an affirmation to switch your thoughts from I am stuck to I am right where I need to be right now. 12.   Enlarging your focus - see the forest from the trees. Blessings to you, Margaret.        P.S. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretPundmann.com where they can sign up.  Margaret Pundmann is a life and business coach, speaker, and author The Emerging Woman.

Are You Stressed Out?

Dear Friend,   "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~Albert Einstein"   Have you ever been stressed out? I know for sure that I have been! Many of us suffer from some level of elevated stress in the course of our lives. Stress comes in many forms. It can be both positive and negative and can be one large issue or many smaller issues.    Stress is essentially a reaction to any change in our environment.   Let's break down the stress cycle: ·         An event occurs ·         We interpret the event ·         We generate feelings based upon our interpretation ·         We have behaviors based upon our feelings   When we are stressed what happens? When we are stressed we have physical, emotional and mental responses to this event or stressor.     Physically stress causes adrenalin to rushes through our body - which in the short term improves our vision and short term memory. Next, sugars and fat release into our bloodstream. Our heart jumps into action and pumps faster to provide more blood to our body. To allow more oxygen to enter our blood system our breathing increases. In preparation for action, our muscles tense and our sense of smell and hearing improve. In the short term stress can be good for us physically - providing us energy and increased awareness. Yet over the long term if we don't manage our stress our health (physical, mental and emotional) suffers.    Mentally and Emotionally The greatest source of stress is what we create for ourselves through patterns of negative thinking. Consider these six ways this manifests: 1.   Overgeneralization - seeing a specific event as a never ending pattern of defeat 2.   Hyper-focus - picking a specific detail and focusing on it exclusively 3.   Emotional Reasoning - assuming that your negative feelings reflect the way things really are 4.   Self-Blame - holding yourself responsible for something that isn't entirely in your control 5.   Helplessness - failing to see your choices 6.   Perfectionism - expecting too much from ourselves and others   While we may not be able to eliminate stress we must manage it for improvement of our physical, mental and emotional health. 10 Tips for Stress Management  1.  Exercise 2.  Deep Breathing 3.  Meditation 4.  Positive Thinking 5.  Yoga 6.  Sleep 7.  Laughter 8.  Talking with people who really listen to and understand you 9.  Recognizing your limits and accepting them 10. Mindfulness Make It Happen So now let's look at your life - can you identify some stressors in your life? What shows up on your list?   To give you a start: Some positive stressors might include: job promotion, marriage, birth of a child, move Some negative stressors might include: job loss, illness, move, This week take some time to identify stressors in your life and for each stressor see if you can create one way to manage it. Remember, that you may not be able to eliminate the stress, but you can manage it. Use the 10 Tips for Stress Management as a point of departure to create your own stress management plan. Next week we are going to talk more in-depth about the 10 Tips for Stress Management. If you have additional tips on reducing stress share them by sending an email to margaret@margaretpundmann.com and I'll include them (with your name if you desire) in next weeks article.

Blessings to you, Margaret.        P.S. Encourage your friends, family, and colleagues by sharing this newsletter with them and invite them to subscribe! Direct them to www.MargaretPundmann.com where they can sign up.  Margaret Pundmann is a life and business coach, speaker, and author The Emerging Woman.

The Virtuous Life - Silence

Dear Friend, The phrase "silence is golden" has been popularized by poets, authors, singers, and even movie theaters from coast to coast. Why is silence golden? Benjamin Franklin believed silence to be listening to others and avoiding meaningless conversation. While I believe there is great merit in these thoughts I suggest that we can take this further. True silence when incorporated into our life has a magical and powerful effect. Allowing silence into our lives creates openness and space. This space has a vast impact on our being. The silence I refer to is about silencing our minds, suspending thought, and quieting the chatter in our head. When we are able to do this, we stop doing and start being. This level of awareness opens a magical door, behind which we access our inner power and creativity. As the frequency and duration of silence in our life increase, the richer the rewards. The paths towards silence are varied. To find what method works best for you experiment and play a little. I’ll share some strategies that have helped me:

• Sit down in a comfortable chair.
• Close your eyes.
• Slowly begin to inhale through your nose.
• Feel the sensation of the air hitting your nose.
• Feel your chest rise as you take this first breath.
• After you’ve finished inhaling, before exhaling pause and hold your breath for a moment.
• When you’re ready, release the hold and gently exhale your full breath.
• As you exhale feel your chest and stomach sink into your body.
• After you’ve finished exhaling, again pause for a moment before you begin your next inhale.
• Feel the sensation of your body.
• Repeat this process. As thoughts come into your mind allow them to pass as you refocus your attention on your breath.

I realize that we are all incredibly busy juggling careers, family, community work, friends, and hobbies and that free moments to sit in silence are few and far between. The irony, of course, is that it isn’t until we have the space and silence in our lives, that we can fully appreciate the value of each of the joyous facets of our lives. In our stolen moments of silence we are able to feel our power and have gratitude for what surrounds us. I suggest that the rewards are far greater than sacrifice.

Take Action Challenge:

For our weekly workout let's make time for two, two minute undistracted, moments of silence each day. During these moments of silence you may use your breath to nudge your mind to release any thoughts and embrace stillness. Remember this is your journey so use whatever method feels comfortable and true for you. This is difficult, but I have confidence and I believe in you. Good luck!

Email your feedback and questions to Margaret@MargaretPundmann.com. Find resources and articles on MargaretPundmann.com. Connect to me: Margaret Pundmann's LinkedIn.com Profile

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