4 Ways to Manage Stress from a Serial Entrepreneur

Stress is one of the most misunderstood concepts plaguing our society today, yet it is rarely given the recognition it deserves. We stress about everything from paying the bills to not being able to find our cellphone in our purse. The funny thing about stress is, it can actually activate in milliseconds, turning on and off like a light switch hundreds of times a day.

While this was a very good biological mechanism for survival, most of the time our lives are not at risk – but this doesn't stop the light switch from still turning on, even when it doesn’t need to. Stress can literally ruin lives – and it almost did for me. As a serial entrepreneur with four children and a husband who is also the CEO of his own company, stress can be a daily battle for us. I have been knocked down and gotten back up more times than I can count, but I never would have gotten to where I am today if I let stress hamper my motivation and passion. 

Stress is a reality that we all have to deal with – but learning to channel it properly can help you reach new heights. Here are my top four ways to manage stress, so stress doesn’t manage you.

Practice Mindfulness

Whether in the form of meditation or thoughtful prayer, mindfulness helps the body and mind to relax. Similar to exercise, research shows that practicing meditation even briefly can have profound immediate and lasting effects on individuals because it promotes self-compassion, forgiveness, and can help uncover new perspectives. If you’re new to meditation, start out with guided minute meditations by calm.com.  

Journaling  

Every night as I’m winding down for bed, I take some time to reflect on my day. What was a grateful for? What did I learn? What can I improve tomorrow? This has become a creative outlet for me and is actually proven to help you let go of stress, anxiety, worry, and anger. My favorite journal is from Silk & Sonder. These notebooks offer the best of productivity and planning frameworks, introspection and mindfulness prompts, and lifestyle content.

Set Goals

You can’t improve what you don’t measure! Many of us have goals of getting a promotion, owning a home, or achieving a new milestone. But without dictating actionable steps to achieve those goals, we often fall short. And that causes a LOT of stress! Check out my blog post on how to set and achieve your goals here.

Turn to advances in neuroscience

Neuroscience hacks can help keep you internally regulated throughout the day. My #1 neuroscience hack is using TouchPoints, twin neuroscientific wearables that are worn on either side of the body preventatively or on-the-spot for 15 minutes before, during or after a stressful situation. Using gentle, haptic micro vibrations called BLAST (bilateral alternating stimulation tactile), TouchPoints alters the body's fight, flight or freeze response to restore calm nervous system functioning. This not only helps to reduce the amount of perceived stress experienced, but also the associated body sensation that comes with it (i.e. stomach butterflies or tightness in the chest). TouchPoints are a natural and effective solution to anxiety and focus issues, and can enhance performance and sleep.

It is important to remember that stress can manifest in different ways for different people – but it doesn’t have to be a life sentence! Living a holistic and healthy lifestyle will go a long way towards improving your mental, physical and emotional health. If you’re curious about how stress manifests in you (and what to do about it) download the TouchPoint Solution app on iOS or Android to take our Personalized Stress Test profile to find out!