We’ve all heard it numerous times- ‘starting a business is difficult/frustrating/hard’ and so on. This is because of the numerous challenges that come with running a business. You might fail to meet a deadline and the client isn’t happy. An employee might be disrespectful and cause some discomfort in the workplace. Your main product might not sell as much as you expected and your business might just be on the brink of its demise.
All these things can be summed up in one word- ‘stressful.’ Stress, if badly handled could take its toll on your health, relationships and surroundings. It is therefore important as an entrepreneur to come up with mechanisms that will stop you from drowning in the challenges that come with pursuing your dreams.
What is stress?
Stress is how your body reacts to any demands, threats or changes that cause you to adjust or react. This adjustment or reaction could be physical, emotional or mental. Things that cause stress are known as stressors.
Stressors
There are primarily three forms of stressors. These are your body, your environment or your thoughts.
1. Body
stress might result, when your body is deprived of, or excessively supplied with certain items that cause it to adapt. This therefore means your body will experience stress if it is subjected to immense pleasure or pain since these both cause it to react and behave abnormally.
2. Environment
Your surroundings might also contribute to your stress level. For example, if your environment contains something that provides great discomfort then it might result in increased stress levels as you are forced to adjust. This could be pollution, an unpleasant individual in your proximity or the lack of something you perceive as essential in a facility.
3. Thoughts
Your fears, anxiety and excitement could also result in stress. Fear could prevent you from doing certain things, whilst anxiety can keep you distracted as you wait in anticipation.
As you might have noted, stress doesn’t always result from negative situations, but it could also be caused by positive ones. Contrary to what many believe, stress is therefore a normal part of everyday life.
A promotion might cause stress. Having a new born might result in stress. Interestingly, having low levels of stress results in boredom whereas excess stress could result in fatigue, frustration and depression.
The key is to manage it and maintain a healthy balance in your life. Effective stress management is a process that starts with understanding the various causes of stress and then taking action to remove or keep the negative ones minimal.
Common stressors and stressful situations
• Clutter
A disorganized environment often causes stress as we have difficulties finding things and unnecessary time wastage as we wade through the clutter. For many, it even becomes harder to think clearly and straight when everything is not organized in an orderly way.
• Poor time management
The inability to manage one's time means they end up running behind schedule. This gives us less time to accomplish tasks and it also puts us on the spot when we fail to miss deadlines.
• Trying to do too much at once
As we get older life tends to demand more from us when we have dependents. As a result we work harder to try and provide a better lifestyle. This might mean taking up extra jobs for additional income. This eats into our personal time and distorts the balance in our lives. It also results in us being less productive as we get worn out and make more mistakes.
• Uncomfortable situations or unpleasant events
At times one is forced out of their comfort zone. This includes being required to speak in public or to deal with the loss of a loved one. When you have to readjust and adapt to a new normal, it might result in stress.
• Stressful people
We constantly interact with other individuals and thus we have no control over their actions. These might include bullies, disrespectful employees or judgemental relatives. Oftentimes, many are stressed when they have to be in the same space with their in laws, if they do not get along.
• Competing with others
Society's pressure creates the impression that we are all in competition with each other. A friend might have bought a new car, gotten married or landed their dream job. This might put pressure on an individual to perform to match those achievements and eventually result in stress.
• Labour saving devices
Devices such as smartphones come with apps that allow us to multitask and stay connected with the world. This might result in an individual taking up more tasks than they can handle. If you are in business, smartphones also connect you with customers and this can result in private family time being compromised as you handle business queries at odd hours.
• Monotony
Doing the same thing over and over ends up resulting in boredom over time. In the work scenario, it results in demotivation and at times it even affects productivity as people make mistakes with their minds not engaged.
Stress Management Tips
- Proactively prepare for the morning crunch
- Wake up early- preferably before everyone else
- Ask for help with your errands or delegate tasks
- Get a wall clock or timer
- Get an aquarium
- Enjoy quality time with your family
- Spend time alone
- Get a hobby
- Play music
- Get enough sleep
- Pursue a charitable cause
- Keep a record of your stressors
- Allow yourself to be imperfect
Office stress management tips - Take breaks
- Join the gym or an exercise class
- Get to work early or stay late at least once a week.
- Avoid workplace gossip and rumours
- Pace your activities
Conclusion
Our minds and bodies are exposed to different kinds of situations and circumstances. How we react to these conditions results in stress. Whilst many have been are familiar with the adverse effects of stress, it does have some positives as well.
Stress if not managed results in other conditions such as depression and anxiety.
It is however important to understand the various conditions that result in stress and manage them. This will safeguard our health and it will also live much happier and productive lives.
We hope you found these tips helpful and will apply them in your daily life to manage your stress levels.
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