How to move forward from 2020

4 Steps for overcoming stress and overwhelm

We all know that 2020 was a bit of a dumpster fire for many businesses. So, what do you do if you’re still reeling from the changes last year brought? What if you feel like you’re still deep in the flame?

Early in the year, it’s not unusual for business owners to be thinking about their goals and visions for the year ahead. It’s difficult to reach a specific outcome if you’re not clear about what you’re reaching for.

So, we encourage you to spend some time clarifying and planning for your desired outcomes and taking steps to ensure your business thrives. But how can you possibly make plans for the future when it feels like you can’t see or breathe through the smoke another day?

‍

Where is your stress coming from?

While it’s great to have all the tools, tech and training to jumpstart your business, if you’re still struggling with overwhelm or are finding yourself regularly stressed, it can be difficult to move forward.

When you take some time to explore where the physical, psychological, environmental, and emotional stresses in your life are coming from, how they impact your life and what you can do about them to increase your health and wellbeing, you will be more able to create a sturdy foundation on which to plan your business’ 2021 comeback.

‍

The 4 steps below will help get you back on track.

‍

4 ways to overcome stress and overwhelm before you refocus on your business

1. Meet your basic needs

In addition to food, water, shelter and love, there are a number of important needs that allow you to thrive when they are met.

Some of our underlying needs are:

• acceptance (e.g. I want people to see I’m as good as them and feel part of a tribe/belong)
• significance (g. I want my work to be of value to others)
• connection (g. it would be so rewarding to work with likeminded people)
• variety and growth (g. I want to learn and experience new things)
• certainty (g. I feel safe and secure when I know what will happen next)

Your basic needs are actually so important that when they are not met, they find ways of making themselves known. You might find yourself continually ‘wanting’ things, but when you get them, you find that that desire has simply been replaced by a different one.

This is what happens when an underlying need is not actually met. Take some time to delve into these areas of your life and see if you can spot anywhere these needs are not being met.

2. Check if your environment is contributing to your stress levels

It is easy to overlook the effects that seemingly innocuous things can have on your life. However, their impact can build up over time to leave you feeling unwell, stressed or overwhelmed. Your environment has a significant influence on your wellbeing and, consequently, on other aspects of your health and business.

Keeping the following 3 things in check can significantly decrease the amount of tension you feel on a daily basis.

Assess your diet

Take a good look at the quality of what you eat. Are you eating a balanced diet and getting the nutrients you need? Poor nutrition can lead to all manner of stress responses for your business and life.

Toxins

Assess the chemicals and other toxins you use or are surrounded by. Your environment can contribute both positively and negatively to the levels of stress and overwhelm you feel on a daily basis.

Clutter

It might seem like just ‘one more thing to do,’ but assessing and combating clutter in your home and office can have a marked impact on how content you feel.

3. Practise Mindfulness

Meditation and mindful breathing can make a big impact on your stress levels by helping you focus on the present moment and keeping your stress hormones and responses in check. These techniques can also allow you to quickly regain peace in a stressful moment.

4. Keep Active

Regular movement of your body creates positive ripple effects that extend far beyond your physical fitness. And it is not just ‘exercise’ that’s important. Activities that maintain your flexibility and stretch and squeeze your muscles and organs are incredibly important for longevity, positive emotional states and mental health.

Incorporating movement into your daily routine is a great way to mitigate stress and gives you the physical resources to keep pushing through when times are tough.Rebuilding or restarting is possible. No matter how big or small your business is, the best place to start is with you.

‍

If you would like to delve further into any of these topics, HOLGRO has a course dedicated to Stress and Overwhelm, where you can:

• take a deeper dive into the research,
• do a full assessment of your situation, and
• craft an action plan to make any necessary changes.