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Think of STRESS and negative connotations usually spring to mind. However stress can be a vital step to moving forward in your life and in our business. You just need to find that sweet spot! That balance between ‘distress’ and ‘eustress’.
Distress Versus Eustress
Stress is the body’s response to external changes that place demands upon us, both physically and mentally. The difference between distress and eustress is all about tolerance.
When in a state of eustress you feel within your coping abilities. On the other hand, you are in a state of distress when the stress response is no longer tolerable. This coping ability, or tolerance, will be different for different people, and can vary within the one person throughout their lives.
Being in a state of eustress can be very exciting and motivating. You feel challenged and your focussed energy often leads to productivity and improved performance. You may be experiencing a positive risk which is expanding your comfort zone. An example you may be able to relate with here is the set up of a new business, or blog. There is a lot of stressed place upon you due to a long ‘to do’ list, however this stress is usually exciting (otherwise you wouldn’t do it!)
Distress occurs when the stress is no longer fun. You are experiencing harmful stimuli which make you weaker, less confident and less able to complete the task at hand. You have intolerable amounts of tension and you feel there is no relief to this tension and no end in sight for this stress. This is NOT a pleasant place to be and can become quite debilitating! When building a business, becoming distressed is usually when people give up!
Tips for Coping with Business Stress
In business, stress is usually the result of habitual behavioural patterns such as lack of proper planning, procrastination and over-scheduling. Here are some tips to managing stress – so that you can reduce distress and hang ten with eustress instead.
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Plan Ahead and Don’t Over-schedule
A business, even a one-person home business, needs structure and direction. Before starting a business put some thought into what your mission statement and overall goals are and set priorities in line with these. Know what your primary activities will be day to day and how much time needs to be allocated to them. Use a calendar to block out working hours and plan your course of action for each week.
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Stop procrastinating
In my experience, the longer you leave an important task the more stress you create for it. Getting important tasks completed is very satisfying and can increase your feeling of control over you business. Unfinished tasks make you feel unorganised and lagging. Remember to set priorities on your tasks though – tasks are not important if they do not contribute towards your business goals.
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Avoid setting unrealistic expectations
Take your time, budget and energy resources into consideration when setting expectations or goals. I know in my situation, I had to review and lower my expectations of what I could actually achieve within one week due to time limitations associated with young family commitments. I was becoming distressed over not achieving my ‘to do’ list. Know that you can increase expectations later when your situation changes.
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Give yourself praise
Praise yourself for what you have achieved, what you have learnt and for continuing to take actions towards your mission statement. When distressed, it is important to step back and take note of the positives of the situation. Make changes to move from distress to eustress and congratulate yourself for doing so. Do not feel guilty that you are not coping with a particular stressor.
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Live an optimal Lifestyle
Above all, it is important to treat your body well during periods of stress. This will help you to cope better. This means healthy eating, lots of water, daily exercise (walks are fine) and good sleep. I’m looking at you! Get some outside help if you struggle in these areas.
So Stress? Yes please!
The point I want you to leave with today is that not all stressors are created equal! Eustress is a positive experience which can expand our comfort zones and lead to great personal or business growth. The more eustress we can apply to our lives the sooner we can actualize our dreams.
So Remember: Remove Distress and Find Eustress.
What is your level of stress tolerance? Can you identify when you are moving from eustress to distress? And what do you do to manage this? I would love to hear from you!
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Hi Rachael,
You are making some really good points in this post. It’s easy to see the relationship between distress and eustress when applied to physical excercise, but it becomes a bit murkier when apllied to business or working activities. We say a prayer…”Lord, help us to turn our trials into blessings, and our blessings into bounty for others.” So, with His help, we can turn our distress into eustress.
Lou
Lou Barba@informationhighwaycardandgiftshop.com recently posted..Angel…Lady “Dowdy”…and Daddy
Hi Lou, I like that quote, “trials into blessings’. I believe we can learn a lot from difficult situations. Thank you for your comment.
Agree with you the eustress is a positive thing. Just like stage fright it makes us perform better.
Yes, and a looming deadline makes us suddenly spring to action with great clarity.
Hi Rachael,
This is a very encouraging post as most entrepreneurs really experience different levels of stress, and thank you for explaining about eustress (I didn’t know about this good kind of stress)… You outlined very great tips to handle stress too. I completely agree about celebrating small wins, as this would really boost our confidence, and would create added momentum for us to take massive action.
Thanks for sharing encouraging insights here, Rachael!
- Rowena
Rowena Bolo recently posted..What’s Inside Your Closet Can Actually Explain the ‘Vacuum Law of Prosperity’
Thank you for the feedback Rowena. Yes, celebrating small wins, or milestones, along the way allow us to pause and take note of our journey, and give us encouragement to keep going!
Well you have provided the new thing I learned today, (why I love blogging!) ‘Eustress’. I had never heard of it although I recognize it from your description and you are right it’s a much better stress to experience.
pea recently posted..Time Bandits
Hello Pea, Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment. I am glad my post left you with something to think about. Cheers!
Hi Rachael,
Very well done! I like your statement, “…stress is usually the result of habitual behavioral patterns such as lack of proper planning, procrastination and over-scheduling.” This is so true. And love the solutions you provide…very encouraging and do-able. Lately, I’ve been over-scheduling and attempting to be super-mom/woman/entrepreneur/etc. This totally resonates with me. Thank you for this vital reminder (lol).
A. Leigh Edwards recently posted..To Tithe or Not to Tithe | That is the Question…
Thank you Leigh for your kind comment. Yes, over-scheduling and trying to be super-mum is something I catch myself doing, and is when I start to feel the effects of Distress. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Rachael. Yes there are different types of stress for sure.
My biggest stress these days is personal accounting! LOL
I have a stack of papers in a basket since January that I know will only take me a couple of hours to complete, yet I keep putting it off and now I have convinced myself it’s going to be ugly. That’s the ‘stress’… ha ha.
I think I should go up and get eustressed about it! I am sure I will be praising myself once it’s done.
All joking aside, I get where you are coming from. That eustress is a great feeling. As you say it’s only when we let things get on top of us it turns nasty.
I enjoyed your post Rachael, keep it up!
Jayne
Jayne Kopp recently posted..Sometimes You Have to Let Your Hair Down & Have Some Fun !
Hi Jayne,
Well I hope you have tackled your papers since you were here! Then you can spend the rest of your summer holidays knowing it is DONE! Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Rachael,
this is such a great point, and one that isn’t often made: there is a difference between good stress and bad stress. Thank you for the valuable reminder!
I know when I make a manageable priority list for myself in the morning, I am in a much better position to take charge of my day. The key for me is to not get derailed by other people’s agendas while still being generous with my time and efforts.
Natalie recently posted..How to Build a Great Marketing Plan
Hi Natalie,
Thanks for your input into the conversation. Yes, that is a good point you made – avoiding being sucked into other people’s agendas! Sometimes simple – other times very hard!
I find that when I make “to do” lists, I get very upset and frustrated when I don’t get through them (work wise that is) which causes me distress. So I need to learn how to accept my time limitations : )
Hi Rachael,
Excellent post! As you said, stress can be a good thing. It gets us moving, but it can also be a killer.
I look at it this way, without evil, there is no good, without dark there is no light and without stress, there would be no feeling of accomplishment.
Stress triggers that flight or fight response in our brains. More important, is how you handle that stress.
Thanks for sharing Rachael and have a great day!
Ian Belanger | Network Marketing Success recently posted..Back and Better Than Ever, With Some of My Favorite Tools
Hi Ian,
Thanks for mentioning something that I did not – that great feeling of accomplishment when we finally overcome the stress to achieve our goal or task! I love that feeling and it makes it all worth it! Like walking out from an exam, or receiving fantastic feedback on a finished project. Thanks,
When it comes to our to-do lists, we often focus on what didn’t get done. Simply stopping at the end of the day to acknowledge yourself for what you DID get done can go a long way to reducing your stress (even with long and never-ending lists)!
Thanks for the reminder to take care of our bodies. They do an amazing job of supporting and nurturing us, but they can’t do it without the proper support.
Lesa recently posted..The Magic of the RRR