“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another .” - William James

The holidays are over. A sense of normalcy and routine returns to our life. We can now take a sigh of relief as we move into a new year of great accomplishments. Or…did you carry the unwanted stress of 2023 into 2024? It’s important that we don’t let stress become chronic and impact our health and well-being.

Recognizing the Signs of Chronic Stress

 Stress is a normal part of life. Many events that happen to you and around you -- and many things that you do yourself -- put stress on your body. You can experience good or bad forms of stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts.

The top three signs of chronic stress are:

1. Constant Anxiety or Irritability: One of the most prominent signs of chronic stress is a persistent feeling of anxiety, agitation, or irritability. Individuals may feel overwhelmed or unable to relax, often reacting disproportionately to minor annoyances.

2. Sleep Problems: Chronic stress commonly leads to sleep disturbances. This can include trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, restless sleep, or feeling unrefreshed even after a full night's sleep. Over time, this lack of restorative sleep can exacerbate other stress symptoms.

3. Physical Symptoms: Chronic stress often manifests physically. Frequent headaches, muscle tension or pain (especially in the neck and shoulders), digestive issues, and a general sense of being unwell are common physical signs of ongoing stress. These symptoms may persist even in the absence of a specific illness.

Consider the Impact of Chronic Stress on Leadership

 As leaders, we must be aware of how stress impacts not only us, but those around us as well. Consider the following impacts stress has on leaders:

1. Decision-Making Skills: Stress can significantly impair a leader's ability to make clear, rational decisions. In a stressed state, leaders might opt for quick, short-term solutions rather than strategic, long-term planning. This can lead to poor decision-making that doesn't align with the best interests of their team or organization.

2. Communication: Stress can detrimentally affect a leader's communication skills. Under stress, leaders might communicate in a more abrupt or less empathetic manner, potentially leading to misunderstandings and a decrease in team cohesion and morale.

3. Emotional Regulation: High levels of stress can make it challenging for leaders to regulate their emotions. This might result in emotional outbursts, increased irritability, or impatience, negatively impacting the work environment and the trust and respect between the leader and their team members.

Develop Stress Management Skills

 Understanding chronic stress and how it impacts us is just the first step. Managing stress takes an intentional strategy. A framework developed by Shirzad Chamine, called Positive Intelligence, goes directly to the anatomy of stress and how it is manifested. Chamine suggests the following five strategies to manage stress and improve your performance and wellbeing:

1. Try not to think your way out of stress.

The harder you try to think your way out of it, the more likely you will be to activate your Saboteurs (the survival part of your brain).

2. Do PQ Reps (10 seconds of focusing on physical sensations like touch, sight, or sound) to quiet your Saboteurs and activate your Sage.

Doing PQ Reps builds your ability to focus on the present moment and mitigate stress.

3. Approach stress management with your 5 Sage Powers in mind: Empathize, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, and Activate.

These powers provide calm, clear-headed focus and allow you to deal with a problem or issue while being in the present moment, reducing the stress, fear, and anxiety you feel.

4. Engage in Sage contemplation exercises in addition to doing PQ Reps. 

You can do this by contemplating the lies your Saboteurs tell you and dismissing them as unhelpful, limiting beliefs.

5. Pay special attention to the Judge Saboteur (the master Saboteur) as it is the primary cause of stress. 

Also, observe the accomplice Saboteurs to weaken their negative impact on your ability to manage stress and protect your wellbeing.

It is important to know that stress can be managed and its impact on our health and well-being minimized, but it requires an intentional approach.

To learn more about the Positive Intelligence framework and how it can transform the way you manage stress, contact us at [email protected] or schedule a free discovery call at https://schedule.azimuthconsultingllc.com/discovery-call