Can You Turn Stress Into Energy?
Let’s face it. I’m not super-human.
There was once I talked to Adam and asked him if he had occasional shoulder aches. His reply? “I wake up in pain every day.” Ha!
I think we are all living in a stressed environment, and the more pressured we are to accomplish success, the more we might find that time is not on our side. It’s a vicious cycle. Even today, I’m working 16-18 hours a day. But do I enjoy it?
Yes, tremendously.
That’s because, the “stress” comes from the need to help people fulfil their dreams. If I can support that direction, I’d be there. So many people approach me for mindset coaching and business coaching, and I wish I could meet everyone, but I can’t - so this blog has to be the place to disseminate information about how you can do the same.
Converting Stress Into Energy - The Secret ManualÂ
Ok, ok… it’s not a secret manual, really. Just a sequence of useful steps.
#1 - Find quiet time for yourself.
This is important. You need some quiet time to get in touch with yourself and what you are all about. Recalling the reason why you are doing all this helps you get going, no matter the stress. I feel that a lot of us turn into robots with very little motivation to keep going. What’s your attitude toward being with yourself and having time for personal reflection?
#2Â - Relaxation is a skill.
If you are so totally stressed, you will definitely need a way to relieve it. But the level of stress you experience is associated mainly with the way you understand your body. For instance, is there any part of your body that is tense right now? Relax it. Let it rest.
#3 - Breathe.
Most of us are no longer conscious of our breathing. We not only breathe poorly, we breathe poor quality air. How are we expected to have a great day? I’d suggest learning some simple breathing strategies to increase productivity and alliviate stress. Deep breathing starts from the stomach down around the navel, and you will have to do this on a controlled basis, seeking to breathe deeply and slowly, and then slow your breathing some more, in through your nose, out through your mouth. It helps when you have accompanying music that relaxes you. If you need a copy of my CD for relaxation, drop my office a call at 62740105.Â
November 9th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
“Driven”, “time-sensitive”, “sense of urgency” “fast worker” “multi-task” “high energy”
Those are just some of the words used everyday in some way, some where, to describe projects, assignments or the people who perform them. Is it any wonder than that we tend to forget that we are NOT robots, that we “do”, rather than “be”.
There is the other extreme of ‘relaxation’.. its called procrastination. For example, instead of typing this, i could (and SHOULD) be making some very important phone calls which might help me reach some seriously dwindling targets. But i’m typing this. WHY? Whats the little bug that stops me from doing something which is actually going to benefit me? WHY wont i touch my task? I did, this morning, i had to really be tough on the little devil on my should saying,, “oh do it later” and then “fear” sitting on the other side going “haven’t you had enough telling off by the boss”?
WHAT is procrastination? Its vile. Its cancerous!
WHO out there has found a remedy to be rid of it FOREVER? Or is it a two step, one step back dance?
How does one find a happy medium between relaxing and procrastinating?
November 10th, 2006 at 7:43 am
Heh - Calendula, thanks for stopping by, and I think you’ve got a very interesting point here.
Truth is, procrastination, just like any other emotional state, is part of our lives.
But rather than think that this emotional state is like a deformity, I believe we can utilize it to accomplish great things.
Procrastinating is different from being indifferent.
It’s also far different from being LAZY.
I think I procrastinate but still put in hard work.
The question is - what exactly are we procrastinating about!
If we procrastinate, it’s a sign I think, that we find that task unimportant, or unaligned. At least that’s what I’ve found for myself.
Perhaps I should do a post on alignment. :)
November 10th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
Stuart… can NLP get rid of procrastination completely? Or does it depends on the ‘depth’ of the problem the psyche has?
What do you recommend for someone literally paralysed by procrastination? For someone who has some kind of self destruct mechanism? What if they have no purpose at all? Then what?
November 10th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Wow!
Paralyzed by procrastination. Self-destruct mechanism.
These are words I’m not too used to! See, I trust that the biggest edge any human being can have is to make a choice to stop and find a better future. I know, I know - it sounds simplistic.
But the point is, paralysis by procrastination… wow, really sounds bad. Why don’t you pulverize procrastination? Yank it off. Destroy it. Burn it. Battle it until there’s no ounce of life left?
Seems to me that someone with this issue is fighting this invisible, immortal “thing”.
If there’s someone who faces this, then the first thing I’d recommend is build awareness of responsibility. You can’t fight something that’s not there, or that you are unaware of. That’s ridiculous. By taking ownership - that it’s NOT the invisible you are fighting but your habits, then you’ve got something to go for.
I’ve found that lack of purpose stems from a lack of mentorship.
I’d recommend surrounding yourself with people far more successful than you are. Maybe the purpose is to simply be better than where you are right now.
NLP is just a tool. It is the craftsman who wields the tool. Chooses which part to trim or cut or slice off. Similarly, tools can be used in different ways. A pen can just be as deadly a weapon as a gun, and a gun as friendly as a coffee bean grinder.
IF the aim is just merely to end procrastination, then get angry and frustrated. Get depressed. Whatever it takes to get out of the procrastination. Often, this isn’t a long term solution. But to show that procrastination is easy to get rid of, all you sometimes need to do is tkae some kind of action.
If the purpose is to become less predisposed to procrastination and get things done, then that’s probably different. Occasionally, procrastination stems from secondary gain - that there is a payoff for having hte problem. So now, choice becomes an essential part of the change.
Bringing to awareness what CAN be done rather than what can’t be done is more important at this stage, in my opinion.
Still, I have little to work with here other than my imaginings. Give this person a chance. Artisans who are skilled smith a sword over many many days, sometimes months or years. They bash out the impurities. They sweat it out. But… it takes time.
November 13th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
Thank You! Stuart…
November 20th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Stuart.. I was going to say ” i am still struggling with it” but i’d prefer to say I am dealing with it.
I have some deep rooted stuff - and id like to address it.. but i gather you dont see people on a one to one basis do you? Is there someone you can recommend? I wrote to you via your site,and its been more than a week but havent received a reply.
November 20th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Sent you an email, Calendula, please check. :)