How are you letting go of the stress through all of this?
As we’ve talked about before, we are going through a Mental Health Tsunami. More than ever before, we are all being impacted: the burnout rate is the highest it’s ever been. We are finding people walking around with some form of mental illness, that is diagnosed or even sometimes undiagnosed.
It is so important that you are physically releasing your stress. If you don’t your stress will catch up over time and your body will break down.
Some ways to release stress are:
⚈ Walking every day
⚈ Doing yoga
⚈ Getting up and stretching every hour
⚈ Going to the gym, or even creating one in your own home
Whatever that is for you, you MUST release the stress. Because, that pain in the neck, that headache, that stomach ache, that is your body’s wisdom telling you that there is something out of alignment. That there is something here that you need to pay attention to. Or else….it graduates into something much more serious.
In addition to the importance of moving your body and releasing your stress, the other thing that is really, really important is what we put into our bodies. Make sure the habits that you have right now, are going to in fact help you and allow your Physically Fit Room to be fit.
What habit have you fallen into that is hurting your wellbeing? Eating sugar in the afternoon /evening to get an energy boost? Consuming caffeine to give you energy? Using more alcohol to destress? Avoiding the gym?
I caught myself eating snacks at nighttime. When I started to observe my body the following day it became clear this was not a healthy habit for me. The next day I was waking up and not feeling good, feeling bloated, fatigued, and cranky. So now I have adjusted my healthy eating habits from Monday through Thursday with no eating after dinner. This is my way of allowing my body, to rest. I am sleeping better and my body is telling me “Thank you for not putting that stuff in me”. I have more energy, more clarity, more confidence, and more productivity.
Whether you are leading a team at the office or leading your crew at home, it is vital that you make time to release your stress. A leader’s stress has a ripple effect across the entire team. (What’s that old expression? If Mama ain’t happy, then nobody’s happy!). This ripple can lead to decreased employee engagement which can then lead to decreased productivity.
The added bonus to taking the time to release your stress as their leader is that it models the behavior for your team, who will, in turn, be more likely to give themselves permission to take time to release their own stress.
Make it part of the conversations; talk about your walking lunch or health breaks, support walking groups among your team members, share healthy recipes as a team, stretching at the beginning of each meeting will build on that healthy culture you have or would like to have.
And so, I invite you to do one thing:
Pick one thing that is going to be a game-changer in your Physically Fit Room and do it for 7 days. This is a great exercise to put to your team and everyone shares their wins at the next meeting. It could be something that helps you to consistently release stress or something that makes you mindful of what you are putting into your body.
Please feel free to share what you like to do to release some of your stress. I’m always looking for new ways!
BE more kind to yourself.
BE more compassionate.
Be more forgiving.
Be more loving.
Remember, you are a Powerhouse.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn so you never have to worry about missing out on any fantastic resources!
PS – My new video is live on YouTube. Check it out to hear more about what you can do in your Emotionally Fit Room to help your team. While you are there, if you like what you hear, hit that big red SUBSCRIBE button so you don’t miss any of my videos.
