You may be asking, is there a way that you can stay efficient both at work and at home, without compromising either?
You are tired, you feel worn out.
These days, you’re also fed up with all the “what’s happening in our world” talks as it’s ruling everybody else’s life, including ours.
Like you, I had my hands full before and just did not need any other extra burden. It was a never-ending story with tasks waiting to get done.
You still have many hours left at work, and a pile of tasks but you just want to sleep and be able to forget everything. And stress? It’s already taking a strict grip on your brain.
HOW WILL YOU SURVIVE? Recognize.
Everything that’s happening in our world today makes us a little more uncertain, and uncertainty’s naturally a threat to our brains so stress creeps up on us without us noticing until everything just becomes so heavy and hopeless.
WILL UNCERTAINTY HURT YOU
Not really if you take the time to rest and rejuvenate from time to time, or prevent yourself from constantly ending up n that situation by acting at first signs.
To help you, I’ll give 5 proven EASY tips that give you calm, energy, better structure in work, and in the end when all combined, better life or revenue business-wise.
1. The Breathing Anchor
What other BESt here and NOW tool than your ability to take deep breaths??
Admittedly, others see breathing as just breathing – but believe me when I tell you, and as a Doctor, that IT IS NOT. It’s the basic source of life. No breathing, no oxygen = no life!
In a workshop with a group of businesspeople, I was teaching them this tool. One man went almost crazy stating that he was absolutely not doing any breathing exercise – it was just all wo-wo.
I had to calm him down. He even told me not to play games with him. I said, well then by normally breathing he was halfway there – he just needed to start seeing it as a tool.
We showed the whole group how to do the breathing in a good way and off they went for 4 weeks. The guy did not look happy when we parted.
4 weeks later at the next workshop session, this man comes up to me – apologizing for his behavior the last time.
He had – behind closed doors – tested the exercise and noticed that he did feel better – less stress and got better flow in his work and realized it was a good thing!
So, if you start to use breathing as a tool, you will have a friend for life.
Make it your first automatic thing to do when you feel the stress come creeping up your back.
Just stop and breathe..
I heard someone call it your 10-second vacation – and that is a very good way to see it – that is just what it is. 10 seconds of peace of mind – and that can make all the difference.
Someone else calls it your airbag – to release when stress hits you.
Whichever of these analogies you use – don’t forget to utilize this free, effective, and readily available tool.
2. PHYSICAL MOVEMENT
Stand up, jump, stretch, walk around! Movement generates energy in both body and mind by improving cell connections in the brain.
Angry, upset, or stressed out? Walk around the block and you’ll be surprised you’ll feel calm.
Notice how when people fight and someone who doesn’t like talking much when full of emotions just walks out, and then comes back ready to talk calmly? That’s what I’m talking about.
Wayback 200,000 ish years ago we were equipped with 3 main ways to react to threats: flight, fight or freeze – combined with a 4th tool – the ability to move.
Moving plus thinking has a connection. Lost a thought? Move and you’ll remember it easier.
Physical movement gives us clarity, and when we’re thinking straight, we can do great unexpected things.
3. A BREAK.
Our brains don’t like being active for too long. They need to rest and reorganize every now and then.
Sprint 20-50 minutes of work, then squeeze in a 5-15 minute break. Get a coffee, breathe, exercise, stretch, jump, sing, dance… Do crochet, sew – whatever makes your heart happy!
4. Delegate!
Have someone else do the work! Repetitive or routinary tasks that can be taught one time? A task that follows a specific process you can teach? Boring easy tasks?
True enough, not everyone has somebody else to delegate to, but buying a service from someone who in no time can do what takes you ages is always an option! In return, you’ll get more time at your hands and focus on things you do the best.
5. MAKE A STRUCTURE.
Get your working routines in order. Get help from systems and structures that already exist. It may take a day or two to do these organizing changes to get a system that works. But you will soon get all that time back and lots more upfront when your work is much more effective in your daily routine.
Once you have a structure for everything, it can easily be taught and passed on, and implementing #4 above will be waaaay easier!
I know all this sounds too much to take but coming to think of it, they’re all easy, and once all set, make your lives so much easier!
I have received questions before about taking a pill instead to calm down… but, let me warn you on that: Yes, it is true that if you take it all will seem good because you’ll feel calm and better but NO, you’re not done with your “stress problems” and your problem is NOT SOLVED.
Just like alcohol… it helps in a day but certainly only offers temporary relief and solves no root cause of a problem. In fact, can even cause an additional one – alcohol addiction.
So no, I say do not succumb to these temporary solutions because quick fixes never work.
MANAGE TASKS TO BE EFFICIENT
Making a list of things to do or tasks at hand plays a crucial role in this journey, as well as prioritizing them in order.
When you don’t have anything that requires urgency, then that’s your excuse to just go pick random tasks because it’s obvious that the one that you pick is also the one that you like the most to do.
Although we tend to pick the easy ones first, I suggest doing it the other way around because ticking off the hard ones from the list can put your mind at ease.
Nobody for sure would like the hard ones getting piled up… or it becomes unmanageable.
CATEGORIZING YOUR TASKS
If you get confused about which task goes first while making your list, I advise you to break them down into these 4 categories:
1. Urgent and Important
Examples of tasks that fall under this category are those that you cannot always predict and require immediate action or attention to stop further harm if any. These tasks give you the feeling to drop other tasks and do only these tasks NOW.
Both things that include preventing conflicts or making you lose an important opportunity go here.
2. Not Urgent But Important
These tasks, since they are not urgent… sometimes mean that you need to have the time to ponder about them.
Sample tasks that fall here are the tasks that could be something big for your business and need plenty of time planning and doing.
“Why does it come second if it is not urgent”
Because if you don’t start doing them now, sooner or later THEY BECOME URGENT. They may be crucial to your business moving forward – but your mind puts them off – because they are time-consuming and often also energy draining.
Most often selling comes here and all the development of new products. It doesn’t have to be done today – but if never done your business will die.
3. Urgent But Not Important
These are the tasks that require urgency looking like they could be preventing you from achieving some of your goals or proceeding to the next step/s.
But since they are not important, ask yourself if they can be rescheduled or outsourced.
Often we also find all the things from OTHER people’s list here – we are asked for things that we don’t have to do – but since someone is asking for it we think we need to answer. But if we reflect we can see they are not important to us at all.
4. Not Urgent and Not Important
Yes, they do exist. Some examples that fall here are those that other people told you that you need to do or tasks you see other people have so you also thought you need to do the same but don’t probably have to do at all.
Avoid these tasks as much as possible as they only serve as a distraction. Reflect and ask if these tasks are really necessary or just a waste of time.
Transparency for me is the basis for trust in doing business with other people.
Going back, one of the ladies I had that talk with, asked me about my thoughts on the matter because I was very firm on it, making a statement that it’s really important. And today, I’ll share with you the things that I’ve shared with them – where after the end of the long discussion they got new perspectives.
I’ll begin by giving you a scenario.
“Let’s say, you lied to your friend John, but here comes Marie who knows the truth, and one day, you discovered that John and Marie are friends What are you gonna do? Will you tell the truth to John or pretend like nothing’s wrong at all?”
That’s entirely up to you – but to tell you something, regardless of the act that you take, you cannot reverse the damage that you’ve done with the lying, you’ve already tarnished your reputation, and with that reputation, how can people know if they can trust you?
The scenario may be simple, but we know how common it is.
Aside from reputation being tarnished, what can it do to you internally?
You’ll be anxious and you’ll always overthink it. You’ll have to be very extra cautious and you’re always scared of something, especially the truth spilling out.
All that are very stressful and we know what too much stress does to our bodies, so it’s not wise to lie from the very beginning.
THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY IT TAKES
All these things also take a lot of energy just to keep track of things.
One lie leads to more lies, and it will just never be over.
Let me share my personal experience about the matter.
When I was new with my business, I got help from various associations from the upstart and got into a co-op with a lady nurse.
Everything was great! Or at least, looked great on the surface as she had a great business model that we used – except that she had a hidden agenda.
She was never transparent in the beginning as my business partner. She put everything in her name and was just telling me that it was ours, but then I was too blue-eyed to question it.
People around me started questioning some of the things we were doing so I had a hunch that something more was happening. I then confronted her but all I got were additional lies I failed to notice as lies so we continued…
Until I asked the wrong question, or actually, the RIGHT ONE that made her shield crack and blew up on me, even uttered things like I do not know anything about healthcare.
Me? Who’s been a Doctor for decades???? Knows nothing about healthcare??? Pretty sure that’s her way to gaslight in her effort to escape the questions I asked.
Then the 3-month hell started, til I got help from my lawyers to put the company in bankruptcy. We both lost a lot of money and it took me a year of hard work as a Doctor to be able to recover.
THE LESSON
Be aware of what you sign up for, and ask the right questions. Transparency is a MUST.
TRANSPARENCY AND SUCCESS CORRELATION
How does transparency help in business success?
Well, aside from the fact that you’ll be closer to achieving success if you are less stressed…
Imagine running a business without transparency. You can be great at what you do, but the company’s success will never be long-term without it.
Remember, it only takes a single wronged person for a business to fall.
WHAT TO DO WHEN BEING TRANSPARENT IS NOT AN OPTION
Having worked in healthcare as a Doctor for many years… I know that there are just unexpected situations where being completely transparent is hard so I know that it’s not always easy.
It was always a thin line to walk for me. I mean, how do you easily tell your patients about things that you know could really hurt them and their families?
But of course, at the same time, I know better – than holding it off, covering it up, postponing it, or worse, lying about it would just make things worse.
“So you shrug it off, the possibility of hurting them?”
No. But I always search for the best words to tell them. I tell the truth and nothing but the complete truth, but I kind of wrap my words in a nice package so it doesn’t hit them so hard. If possible.
BUSINESS TRANSPARENCY
Transparency in business means offering a clear, honest assessment of what’s going on within one’s work and starts with a simple shift in communication: openness and honesty between everyone involved in the business relationship.
It is also the basis for trust between a firm and its investors, customers, partners, and employees, having its core objective to be always the same: establishing trust and goodwill.
Let’s look at Some examples of what transparency in business can include:
With Investors and Shareholders – Investors think about transparency in terms of how readily they can access financial information about a company, including its price levels and audited financial reports. Investors must be able to trust that your organization produces financial reports that are informative, accurate, and independently audited.
With Customers – Customers want to see transparency from the businesses where they choose to spend their money. To achieve transparency with its customers, businesses should respond to customer inquiries and feedback in an honest and timely fashion, and increase the accessibility of information about their products and services. Transparency also means admitting to mistakes instead of trying to cover them up, and working to make things right with customers. When executed well, transparency with customers results in elevated brand loyalty, increased sales, and stronger employee satisfaction.
In the Supply Chain – Transparency between an organization and its vendors and suppliers is essential for ensuring a productive ongoing relationship. An organization may cease doing business with a supplier who fails to honestly communicate about the sources of its materials or labor. Supply chains are increasingly being scrutinized by governments, consumers, and NGOs who are concerned about the ethical sourcing of labor and materials.
With Employees – Transparency with employees is centered around honest, two-way communications between employees of the business and their managers. This can include transparent discussions about business goals and objectives, challenges, employee performance, and other work-related issues.
In the end, the primary benefit of business transparency is that it produces trust and goodwill while safeguarding the firm’s reputation among investors, partners, employees, customers, and other stakeholders. In addition to all the above-mentioned, benefits also include:
Increasing employee morale
Boosting employee engagement and retention
Demonstrating stability and encouraging investment
Leveraging honest feedback to improve processes and drive results
Demonstrating integrity and ethical behavior
Studies show that approximately 9 in 10 individuals (85%) are expected to stick by the company during a brand crunch if it possesses a history of being fully transparent.
TRANSPARENCY AND INTERNAL INFORMATION
Transparency in business can also mean publicizing a company’s internal information externally which can include:
Financial performance
Pricing
Key processes
Hiring practices
Diversity and inclusion data
Sharing all of this information keeps companies accountable to their customers and, most importantly, pushes them to follow ethical business practices.
Nowadays, people don’t just buy your product or services — they also buy what you stand for. In Edelman’s 2019 Brand Trust Survey, 81% of survey respondents reported that they “must be able to trust the brand to do what is right” to justify their purchase of the brand’s products or services.
But how exactly do you gain people’s trust, especially when the majority of consumers are skeptical of a lot of brands’ true intentions? A crucial first step to take is to fully commit to transparency. People value transparency because we evolved to trust the people who are honest and despise those who are deceptive. The former could help us survive. The latter could do the very opposite.
In a nutshell, people buy brands — not just products — and practicing transparency helps build their trust and affinity for your company. But this begs the question — what does that actually look like?
As I started off today ALL of these angles – steps – viewpoints cause a lot of stress for everyone involved if we feel we are doing the wrong thing.
Sticking to the truth helps us to stay grounded and be sure we do our best and that will be the best guarantee for less stress in your business
And of course, all these facts and angles can be applied to your personal life too.
This discussion around transparency, around the truth or lying, can be hard to tackle. It is a sensitive subject that can stress you out a lot.
What is right and what is wrong?
If you do not know where to start or feel hard to do on your own, it’s okay! You can start with little things, such as mastering your stress management as a leader, and then with less stress, the rest will automatically follow.
Habit means something we do the same, all the time.
But why is it important in stress management?
During the Savannah, at about 20,000ish years ago, we live in the caves and hunt for food.
We were only equipped with 3 instincts, flight, fight, or freeze in order to fight for survival.
We hunt by the day, we sleep by the night. But there is a certain awake and sleep pattern steered by our internal clocks – the circadian rhythm.
The circadian rhythm, this system wants us to have regularity with sleep and eat and help biology perform best by making things into a routine as the way to go.
Smart, isn’t it? How biology works, us having habits so we don’t drain ourselves the energy when we do things we’re used to doing.
We just do what we do without needing to think so much or exert a lot of energy because once a thing becomes a habit – it seems so easy to be done.
ARE HABITS GOOD?
Habits are generally very good as they help us to an easier life where we do not have to think of every step we take.
An example is a morning routine, imagine the stress if we have to regularly think about every move we’re gonna make after waking up?
“I will get out of bed, then I will go to the bathroom to pee, shower, I will find my towel, I will get dressed, etc., etc.”
Imagine these details if you still have to think of them before you can do them??
So habits make life easy, right?
BUT WHY DOES IT SEEM HARD NOW?
Because unlike before where the only threats were the animals that would eat us…
Our surrounding has greatly evolved. We are not surrounded by wild animals anymore but by work stresses, financial or relationship challenges – things that cannot be solved anymore by habits, things that require thinking.
STILL, HABITS ARE STILL NUMBER 1!
Despite the above-mentioned, I’d say that habits are still the number 1 way to go today.
They make our basic life so so much easier and save us so much energy.
I would even say that many people would benefit from making more habits to go from
In our workplaces it is gold to have habits and communal structures to base all the basic actions on, setting the rules and making clear instructions, then showing them to new people in the organization so they too can get these habits so things will move smoothly.
FROM ROUTINES TO RITUALS
If you do get good routines and you keep doing them and they serve you they will turn into rituals – routines you don’t want to live without – making things flow even better.
BUT EVEN HABITS REQUIRE CHANGE
When the routines and habits don’t serve you any longer they will be a burden. They will start your stress system – knock on your back and say “Hello, I feel unease and all these stress hormones have started to run around in my bloodstream – do something!!!
The problem now is that the master in your head will keep saying – do as you always have done – we need to save energy – just keep on.
Now you need to make an active decision – use your willpower to find new ways to tackle the problem and find a new way that works better for you.
It may be some major changes in your life, or at work?
And maybe you, now when I say it can be tough – you have started to get cold feet – IS THIS REALLY POSSIBLE?
I know your instinct tells you to stay where you are because that’s where you will feel safer.
Don’t worry, it is possible if you know how! To help you get that picture of what you can do, I want to introduce you to a new way of thinking – a model of how you can see these changes work.
Remembering this can work as an anchor to stay on track.
We are wired to want everything to be easy. When we wave the magic wand, everything should fall in place, just like that. Because we long for success and happiness all the time, don’t we?
Well, that is not how it works! But it IS possible to make changes in your habits. It is even easy if you know how to. And this way of thinking works for everything you change – at work or at home.
I see Changes in life as an outer space rocket taking off. At first, the gravity is extremely strong; it takes a lot of fuel to get the rocket taken off from the ground. When it is up and comes to the outer layers of our atmosphere it goes easier and when it is out there, in the free space, it just dances away.
It is the same with Changes in life. They can be extremely hard in the beginning and you need all your willpower to not just give up and do “as usual” but they get easier the longer you stick with them.
AIM FOR A MONTH
Four weeks is said to be the time needed for a new habit to stick. It is also important what you promise to yourself.
NO OVERPROMISING
Most people tend to overpromise to change everything at once, and they think of what other people say they should change. It is just not possible to do it that way.
ONE STEP AT A TIME
You may plan a lot of changes but the only way to succeed is to make one small change at a time. And then the next one, and the next one.
Since each change takes about four weeks that add up to the possibility of a lot of changes in a year.
Also, when you start doing small changes the right way, you will see the magic happen. So many other things will follow with change just because of your new actions.
To make it even easier and fun you can tell people about what you are up to and that will work as accountability too!
LOVING THE LAST MINUTE
If you have a tendency to procrastinate when change is on the table – you are not alone. Most people dread change!
But also remember – it isn’t going to be easier or better or faster if you delay acting for change – it will still take those 4 weeks until you get at ease with your new habits – so procrastination is only chowing the problem ahead of you, so why not just get it done? “Just do it” – as Nike says!
If you’re asking why even habits change…
Just remember one of the most famous lines: “Change is the only constant thing in this world.”
If you do not know where to start or feel hard to do on your own, get yourself a mentor or check HERE to see if you’ll feel like we’re a good fit.
Sleep – a very basic activity in life and very important for better health, wellness, and even for the business.
It is a basic function regulated by our internal clocks or the circadian rhythm.
The circadian rhythm, also known as our body’s 24-hour “internal clock” that controls our body’s sleep-wake cycle, is set by biology.
It’s true that our internal clocks naturally change a bit as we age, but we still need to adjust to the rhythm we are born with.
If we violate the clocks, by staying up when they tell us to sleep, they will get out of rhythm and that is when we feel out of rhythm, that’s feeling sick.
Just think of a day after you had too little sleep… you feel drowsy and become a slow thinker.
Guess what? That happens after just one night out of rhythm.
Regardless of your perfect bedtime, the sleeping hours are important as there are consequences to face for getting inadequate sleep.
Repeatedly inadequate sleep results in a lot of problems, including, but not limited to: obesity, blood pressure increase, higher risk of cardiovascular disease, the risk for stroke and diabetes, slow memory recall, and a whole lot more.
These consequences aside from being bad for the health are also bad for the business. You couldn’t be hustling with your business if you are already too unhealthy or forgetful to do so.
THE SOLUTION
Now that we know the risks, let us discuss the solutions.
How do we get enough sleep with better quality?
First, avoid caffeine and cigarettes when it’s near sleeping time. These are stimulants and we don’t want to have much active brain stimulation if we’re gonna sleep.
Next, avoid drinking alcohol late at night. Alcohol indeed makes you feel drowsy and sleepy, but too much of it makes your sleep pattern disturbed so even though you quickly fell asleep because of drinking, you won’t get your sleep in the right order. Wonder why you wake up feeling tired even after sleeping for long hours? Bet now you know the answer.
And third, is to engage in daily physical activity as it helps the body rest and sleep better at night.
Even just 30 minutes of brisk walking will do but remember not to have the heavy physical activity done too close to bedtime so you’re not in the hype when you try to sleep.
OPTIMIZING THE SLEEP ENVIRONMENT
You can also achieve a good night’s sleep by optimizing your sleep environment, like avoiding bright lights or Television as the blue lights of those will block your most important sleep hormone, melatonin.
You can instead wind down by listening to soft music or reading nice books.
IMPORTANCE OF ROUTINE
Not everyone can sleep the moment they lie down. Some need an extra 20 minutes before falling asleep.
If you are one of those who need the extra time, use it to wind down and do it every day until your body gets used to it.
OBSERVANCE IS THE KEY
Do not forget to observe the time you go to bed, the times you wake up at night, the time you wake up in the morning and remember if you have had a good night’s sleep or not.
Maybe you can make notes about this for a week as a sleep diary. That will make you see the pattern with ease. And by seeing the pattern, you will easily know what’s going on and you can easily pinpoint the possible causes of bad sleep.
If you want to know more about how caring for yourself and managing your stress helps in elevating success, here’s a complimentary guide you can download.
“Who said it is? I don’t need one, I’ve got no time for one because I’ve got lots of things to do.”
Well, while I admire your work dedication, I worry about your body and stress levels.
I’m sure that everyone longs for vacation or at least free time for themselves, but not everyone takes one.
Why?
Because they think that if they take one, then they wasted a lot of time since instead of being on a vacation, they could be working.
But don’t you know that if you don’t take breaks at least once in a while, your body or your mind will sooner or later give up because of feeling so overwhelmed?
TAKING A VACATION CAN SAVE LIVES
Yes, in fact, it is actually life-saving to take breaks.
“Okay, that’s too much. No one dies because of not taking a vacation or not taking breaks.”
Yes, true. No one, at least not directly, but a lot of people die from too much stress, and too much stress can be lessened by taking breaks.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND STRESS
Stress is when demands are higher than what you can do when you have too much to do that you feel like it’s never-ending and you always feel like chasing around in that hamster wheel; or maybe it’s too hard to do, just a few tasks but you have no idea how to get to the end of it.
Truth is, we all have normal levels of stress always present in our body because it’s part of our normal biology and without it we’re dead.
Read that again. I said, “NORMAL” stress levels. So they are supposed to be in that state only.
But different situations arise, which then makes the number of our stress levels go up and down, and when it’s too high, that’s the only moment we feel it or get the symptoms like headaches and irritability.
When the stress levels go up, the immune system goes down. When the immune system is down, it’s easier to get sick.
So yes, again, the basic way which is taking breaks, or a vacation, can SAVE A LIFE.
REGULAR BREAKS INSTEAD OF A VACATION
If you think that a vacation is still out of reach, then the technique is taking regular breaks over the day.
Stand up from your desk, jump or dance around a little, sing, jog, exercise, or do anything that you feel like doing as long as you take a break…
Because it helps your brain and system with stress hormones. Is it getting too high? Take a breather and give it time to go down.
Once it’s back to its normal levels, you’ll be surprised at how productive you can be because you feel great.
THE POWER OF MIND
Despite all the above-mentioned, one solution is always not best for all because of personality differences.
Some people don’t like moving, and you’ll be surprised at how they deal with their stress levels.
MINDSET.
Okay, I’ll elaborate.
They ACCEPT. They set their minds and give themselves personal affirmations like:
“Okay, today is a long day and I’m gonna do something so hard but I will do my best to get it done. It will take longer than the usual but it’s okay and it will be done in time.”
This plus breathing and a positive mindset save their day.
You can choose and use which suits you best, or try mixing it up!
After all, what’s important here is being able to control and manage your stress levels properly, so that you feel LESS STRESS, GET MORE THINGS DONE RIGHT, FEEL GOOD, and in the end, HAVE MORE REVENUE BROUGHT BY YOUR POSITIVITY!
‘Where does stress come from?” What a great question, isn’t it?
When we hear this question, we immediately think of the current causes of stress. But what about its HISTORY and SCIENCE?
“Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could eliminate stress totally?“
“Oh, easy peasy. Just take a pill against stress hormones and the levels go down to zero. And we would live happily and calmly forever after.”
Well, if you still believe that way the I hate to break it up to you BUT…
IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY.
Our stress hormone system is part of life, of our normal biology, and with no stress hormones pumping around in your body –YOU ARE DEAD.
How is that… POSSIBLE?
THE STRESS THEORY
HANS SEYLE founded the stress theory in humans.
Seyle, who is a pioneer in stress research and nominated for the NOBEL PRIZE 17 times, borrowed the word “stress” from the technical world where it’s defined as “the amount of pressure any material can take before getting damaged”.
This has also been applied to our bodies, how much can our bodies take before they break? How much before our back breaks or our ankles get sprained?
When we’re talking about our bodies or our bones breaking, it all sounds normal but we haven’t until now started to talk about how much pressure our brains can take.
If it’s the brain we’re talking about, more or less it’s only “go home, sleep, and come back tomorrow”, or “rest a little and all will be fine” that we’ll get.
And in case you’re wondering, it’s probably because we can’t really see the amount of damage as we do with our limbs and back. We can’t see if it’s swollen or feel if it’s aching. There are no signs, it just suddenly happens.
And what we know – is that if it doesn’t function – it gets scary.
THE TRUTH
Truth is, stress-related brain dysfunction is NOT a mental illness but PART of NORMAL BIOLOGY.
Did you know that at the least, here in my country (Sweden), brain fog is still not as accepted as having limbing limbs?
But brain damage caused by stress today is more common than physical damage.
But how did we get this system, to begin with? Or, how did it all begin?
HISTORY OF STRESS
Let me start FROM THE BEGINNING.
Imagine yourself 200000ish years ago…
You live in a small cave, and then the savanna is spreading wide outside with all the beautiful wildlife... and you live together with a small group of other people.
You stay “indoors” and rest and sleep during the dark for 12 hours and are out working,hunting, seeking fruits, seeds and berries, when it is light for 12 hours.
In this case, you are just evolving as the modern human being from your older ancestors.
Then you are given 4 BASIC NEEDS – things you need to do TO SURVIVE in that environment.
SLEEP and REST to clear your brain and body and get rid of waste products.
EAT to get energy to your brain and body.
MOVE YOUR MUSCLES because you need them for the hunting and they are connected with your brain activity. It makes you think while you hunt – all to do the right thing in each moment – so YOU SURVIVE.
And PROCREATE– to make your RACE SURVIVE.
This is what you get and it is all regulated by your stress system set up AT THIS TIME.
THE BASIC SURVIVAL INSTINCTS
Because it’s basically survival back then, our ancestors had these 3 survival instincts:
1. Flight, or run as fast as you can away from the threat.
2. Fight, as hard as you can so you can eat, or lose then you become their food
3. Freeze, or fall down and play dead so the attacker loses interest
The ability to move around and think were the two most important tools that made the 3 instincts possible.
The system found the connection between moving and thinking to be important. Remember a time when you lose a thought and the thought came back the moment you moved? That’s what I’m talking about.
Your adrenal glands give adrenalineand noradrenaline for the acute system when we talk about life or death – eat or be eaten – fight or flight – or play dead.
And they produce cortisol for the long-term defense, the endurance.
This is it – and we can call it Version 1.0 of Human Biology.
And it was in a 1.0 surrounding on the savannah – a perfect match of systems – built in the balance!
HOW IT IS TODAY
“SO WHAT? What has this got to do with me and my stressed-out life lately?”
ALL AND EVERYTHING!
You are still – 200000ish years later, a 1.0 human being– functioning very primitively, like when your threats were wild animals and you were struggling to get food.
But now you live in a 5.0 or even 10.0 world.A 24/7 society with endless possibilities.
This is the challenge, what we have to overcome, overlap, or count into the equation on what to do now.
We need to tackle this in a totally different way.
“Food is given around the clock and you sit on your sofa as a potato and grow fat and stale. All the challenges you have at work need new solutions, and it is not okay to run away or smash your boss in the face when they ask you to do more work than you can handle – or fall to the floor and play dead for that matter.”
This is what we need to have in mind, this is why we feel this stressful time. And this is also why we tackle these challenges in such a clumsy way.
We function on reflex and want a solution NOW.But NOW does not always work in this world.
Still, we are swamped with quick fixes – “the market” has figured it all outsell stuff for immediate satisfaction – apps, gadgets, pills, alcohol, medication, drugs, and the like.
They might make us calm for a momentbut mostly they give us one more thing to keep track of.
What to do instead?
BACK TO BASICS
Look back to where we came from, how we are made to function, and adjust to that.
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