Effective Strategies To Relieve Your Stress
No meditation required. Only action items that will make you feel happier and less overwhelmed.
Do you ever wake up feeling good, but then something triggers you, and all of a sudden, you feel a pit in your stomach?
We all have different things that trigger our stress and anxieties. For instance, two years ago, I was extremely triggered by the bank account app on my phone.
When I’d wake up and turn my phone on and see the app, I’d feel overwhelming dread. I’d think about how much credit debt I was in. When my next car payment was. Is this another late fee? You get the picture. We all have something that causes us to feel stressed out and overwhelmed.
The problem is when we allow that stress and anxiety get out of control, and instead of taking action, we succumb to it because we’re afraid.
Afraid to check our bank accounts. Afraid to see how much money we spent last weekend. Afraid to see the doctor’s results.
You’d be surprised by how taking action and dealing with the problems instead of sweeping them under the rug can relieve your stress and make you feel 10x better.
With that being said, here are a few things you can do today — to start relieving your stress.
Schedule the appointment you’ve been putting off.
You feel dread when you wake up because you’re procrastinating. You’re procrastinating making doctors appointments, dentist appointments; you’re putting off going to the gym despite knowing — and wanting to get healthy.
You have a pit in your stomach because of all the things piling on your to-do list, yet you still avoid doing them because they’re a hassle for you.
It’s a hassle for you to call the dentist. It’s a hassle for you to figure out if they take your insurance. It’s also a hassle for you to talk on the phone. That hold line really does take forever nowadays.
Since everything feels like a hassle and putting it off till tomorrow sounds better than doing it that very moment, you try not to think about it. But every day, that list grows and nags at you.
What you can do:
Get your notepad out and write down all of the appointments you’ve been putting off. Set some time aside and go down that list without stopping.
Try to batch your appointments all for one day if possible, do whatever it takes. Just tick those things off your list and move on with your life.
There’s no better feeling than knowing you’ve got your life together and all of your “adult stuff” handled.
I can’t tell you how light I feel when I cross this off my to-do list. You will too.
Stop avoiding your bank account and come up with a solution to fix the issue at hand.
You’re avoiding the banking app on your phone.
“People practice financial avoidance regardless of their financial situation. Sometimes it’s people who live paycheck to paycheck and want to avoid the negative feelings of seeing their accounts empty at the end of the month. Sometimes it’s people with multiple credit cards who don’t want to see the damage added up in one place. Sometimes it’s self-employed people and freelancers on an irregular pay schedule whose bank accounts are constantly in flux.” — Shannon McLay, CEO and founder of Financial Gym.
You believe that by limiting your awareness of your financial situation, it’ll magically get resolved on its own. But the longer you avoid your problems with money, the more anxious you’re going to feel.
When I moved to Los Angeles and lost my job, I was constantly stressed out. Money was the source of my anxiety, and I avoided thinking about it at all costs. I felt tense all the time, irritable, frustrated with myself, and I projected those feelings on those closest to me.
Financial therapist Amanda Clayman says,
“It doesn’t feel very helpful to say, “If you’re anxious about checking your bank account, just check your bank account!” But while it may be uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing, think of it as exposure therapy.
Not only are you breaking the habit of only checking your balance when your anxiety pushes you over the edge, but you’re also getting a lot of practice approaching your bank account without judgment or the pressure to fix things. It’s the first step in breaking the cycle, and it will get easier with time.”
What you can do:
Limiting your awareness of upsetting, distracting, and potentially destabilizing information is a very human defense mechanism, but it’s not healthy nor good for you.
You have anxiety because you’re unable to face the consequences of irresponsible spending, and the only way this issue is going to get resolved is by you opening up that bank account and either figuring out a way to budget. Or start making more money.
Try committing to a short but regular weekly date with your bank account to check in on what comes in and what’s going out and go from there.
Create realistic and ambitious goals for yourself and set timelines.
People are unhappy because they have no purpose. They go through the motions of life without understanding what it is that they’re working towards.
You go to work daily because you need money to pay your bills, but that doesn’t fulfill the empty part of you that craves to do something worthwhile.
That part of you that knows you’re meant for more than just clocking in and out.
My life felt incredibly mundane when I worked a 9–5 and had no aspirations or goals outside of surviving.
You’re not taught to explore your passions or do something magnificent with your life. You’re taught to get a degree, get a job, pay your bills, and not much else.
That quickly changed when I realized that I could color outside of the lines. I could do something. I could create something. I could be someone.
What you can do:
Think about what you really want to do in your life. What do you want to be known for? What is the legacy you want to leave behind?
When you’ve written down your goals, create a timeline. Maybe you want to publish a book within 3–5 years. Maybe you want to buy a house in 2 years. Whatever your dreams and aspirations are, set a timeframe.
Setting a timeframe will ensure that you’re putting in the work daily, which means you’re making progress daily. Progress is what will make you happy.
Psychologist Timothy A. Pychyl says,
“Progress on our goals leads to more positive emotions and more satisfaction with life. It increases our well being. In turn, positive emotions contribute to our motivation to act. This is a win-win situation if we can “just get started.”
There’s no better feeling than seeing your work slowly coming to fruition.
Create a routine for your day-to-day life.
A lot of people are stressed out, unproductive and unhappy because they don’t understand the power of creating a routine for themselves.
They say things like, “routines don’t work for me!” or, “I don’t want to feel restricted! I want to do whatever I want throughout the day.”
Yet, the most successful people in the world have some form of routine within their day-to-day life.
Blogger Leo Babauta of Zen Habits shares his daily routine:
- Wake up at 4:30 a.m.
- Drink water.
- Set 3 Most Important Things (MITs) for the day.
- Fix lunches for kids and myself.
- Eat breakfast, read.
- Exercise (run, bike, swim, strength, or yardwork) or meditate.
- Shower.
- Wake wife & kids at 6:30 a.m
“The reason I like having a morning routine is that not only does it instill a sense of purpose, peace, and ritual to my day, but it ensures that I’m getting certain things done every morning, namely, my goals.” — Leo Babauta.
Having structure in your everyday life will make you feel like you’re on top of your game. When you’re on top of your game, you feel confident. You feel good about yourself.
What you can do:
Create a routine for yourself that is simple and easy to follow Monday through Friday. That’s it. 5 days. You can do anything for 5 days. Imagine how much more productive you’ll be if you actually start setting deadlines for yourself.
Imagine how much better you’ll feel if you put “exercise” into your daily routine instead of hoping you’ll have time for it, but we both know you won’t bother making the time.
Imagine how much more time you’ll have on your hands when you’re not squandering it all on social media because you have some form of structure throughout the day.
It doesn’t need to be to the minute or hour; simply create something for yourself that you can follow. Challenge yourself.
To reiterate, a few ways to relieve your stress:
- Schedule the appointments you’ve been putting off. Don’t say you’ll do it tomorrow. Do it today.
- Stop avoiding your bank account and come up with a resolution.
- Create goals for yourself. Set a timeline for when you want to reach those goals. This will help you create a sense of purpose and drive.
- Create a routine for your everyday life that enables you to reach your goals, and stay productive throughout the day.
Sometimes we forget that it’s not the big things that cause grief in our lives.
It’s the little things. It’s not being on top of your work, not maintaining your health, not being self-aware of yourself. Focus on your foundation, and watch how much you flourish.