Ways to keep stress in check

Thanks very much. Listen, it happens to all of us. You feel like you're just running on fumes and now, especially this time of year between the election aftermath, the end of the year pressure, the holidays coming up. It's a lot. So sometimes you just need to hit reset, recharge, protect your peace. Bestselling author Jennifer Stanford has some of those tips in her book, De-Stressed. But listen, read the book. You need the book, but we have Jennifer now. So we're going to take advantage of you being here as well. You do a lot of work in the corporate world, right? And you're teaching managers how to best manage, get the most out of their employees. But let's put ourselves in that position right now. Let's manage ourselves. What do we need to do this time of year? I think, you know, it's hard. I've been saying that I think that busy has become our calling card. Right. How are you doing today? I'm so busy. And so I think we're getting value from how busy our schedule is and wearing stress like a badge of honor. And I think we really need to take a step back and listen to what our body is telling us. Yeah. And do you have a couple of ways that you look at that? And one is by defining different types of stress, right? And we can't focus on all of them at once, perhaps. True. Well, and you know, stress isn't necessarily bad. Stress can be a great motivator. It can drive us. But when we move into like a distress, not like the book But we are now dealing with... Overrun. Our bodies can no longer take the capacity to which we are working. And so it'll give us signals. We'll have tension in the neck, headaches. Our stomach might hurt. Our heart might be beating too fast. It's hard though, because sometimes we just keep pushing right through those signals because we're like, we have to get the job done or we have to get ready for the holidays or we have to deal with family. So how do we find that balance where we can listen to our But also still feel like we're being productive. I think it's really remembering that our energy is our greatest currency. And we all have 24 hours in the day. So if we can balance our energy throughout the day, right, drinking water, a good sleep, watching what we eat, and keeping just our emotions under control, then we have enough capacity for the people and the things that we love, not just at work. I think one of the hardest things for people to do is to say no to opportunities, to other people, to requests. How do we best do that and know that it's okay to do so? Because I think sometimes we feel like if we say no, we're being judged for saying no. Maybe we're not a team player. Maybe we're not, you know, carrying everybody else along with us here. I think it's not saying sorry. Thank you for asking me to do that. Unfortunately, I don't have the time right now, or it doesn't fit into the system that I'm doing. It just takes saying no a couple of times, and then it becomes a lot easier. Well, that's a good way to start it. Listen, I do want to ask you, obviously, stress, like you said, can be a motivating factor. So you can look at that positively as long as you're not overwhelmed. But then there's burnout. And how do you determine the difference between the two? And if it evolves into burnout, how do you course correct? I think you really start to notice the signals. I say our body is telling us what's going on. So if you are waking up after what should have been a good night's sleep and you're still tired, if you have a headache, like I said, if you are noticing that you're more irritable, if you're disconnected from things that you've normally been involved in, those are all signs that our body's telling us. And so the only way to deal with that is to make space. We have to make space. And it doesn't take hours. It could take five minutes a day. ...to breathe, to ground just for a few minutes, and you might really notice the difference. Do you cherish the recharge when you get it? I intentionally plan for it. I intentionally plan for it. I put it in my calendar so that I am recharging throughout the day. It's great advice. If you want more, obviously, the book is filled with some great tips for you as well.