Stress Relief Archives - Page 6 of 8 - Motivational Speeches and books by Snowden McFall

Stress Relief Through Food- Eat Local

Stress Tip: What You Eat Matters – Eat Local, Fresh, Whole

Welcoa leader David Hunnicutt says one of the keys to better health is to eat local, as much as possible. That means fresh food from your own garden, local farmers’ markets and your grocery store. The more you dine out, the less control you have over pesticides, etc. Eat whole foods, not processed foods, as they have very little nutritional value. Up your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables to 5-8 servings daily.

We’ve all heard this, but here’s why it’s true: they are chock full of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber. Vitamin C has been shown to lower blood pressure and help cortisol levels return to normal. Mix it up – try to eat several different colored fruit and veggies a day! Blackberries have more than double the amounts of vitamin C, calcium and magnesium than blueberries. Both boost your memory and are great for you! Choose organic ones to prevent pesticide ingestion.

Note: My husband and I started an organic container garden years ago. We grow fresh lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and more. There is nothing like the flavor of fresh picked vegetables! And if you’re too busy, try picking up local produce at a farm stand, farmer’s market or farm co-op. The fresher and the more local the food, the better and healthier for you.

To sign up for Snowden’s ezine newsletter on stress, happiness, marketing and motivation, go to: http://firedupnow.com/firedupemailregister.html

 ©2011 Snowden McFall All Rights Reserved. No duplication

Celebrating Small Successes for Stress Relief & Happiness

At the end of each day, record 10 small successes you’ve had that day. Anything you intended to do and did is a success. Catch yourself in the act of doing things right and see how much
happier and more fulfilled you are.

My birthday is in July and it was a joy to celebrate twice, once with women friends at lunch and then at a party my husband threw for me. Celebrating life’s little moments of success and joy is so important to our stress levels, happiness and overall performance at work. It’s rare that the huge successes happen; what matters is to acknowledge all the small achievements you have every day.

I love this quote from Norman Lear:

“Success is how you collect your minutes.
You spend millions of minutes to reach one triumph,
one moment,
then you spend maybe a thousand minutes
enjoying it.
If you are unhappy through those millions of minutes,
what good are the thousands of minutes of triumph?
It doesn’t equate.
Life is made up of small pleasures,
Happiness is made up of those tiny successes.
The big ones come too infrequently.
If you don’t have all those
zillions of tiny successes,
the big ones don’t mean anything.”
Norman Lear

Here’s a tip: at the end of each day, record 10 small successes you’ve had that day. Anything you intended to do and did is a success. Catch yourself in the act of doing things right and see how much
happier and more fulfilled you are.

Cut Your Stress by Eliminating Clutter

Are you aware that every pile of clutter in your office or home is sapping your energy? Every book you have not finished reading, every article you not have finished, every corner of clutter registers inside as an incomplete.

These incompletions drain you and your energy, which could be better used on high results tasks.

There are several books on the market which are excellent resilience resources for leaders. Julie Morgenstern and I shared the platform in NY, and her bestselling book Organizing From the Inside Out is a great place to start.

For the future, create file folders every time you pull an article, label it and file it away in a reference file cabinet.

Go through your mail just once and create a reading file. Take that file with you on airplanes and throw out what you don’t want.

Give clothes you haven’t worn in a year to Good Will or Dress for Success. We have a garage section at the recycling center where we can take good items we no longer have a need for. I’ve donated old rugs, chairs, lamps, etc. and within 5 minutes, someone else has taken it for themselves.

Free up the space around you and you will find your mind is freer to handle all your important business matters.

@2011 Snowden McFall.  All Rights Reserved. No duplication without permission

The Fraud Syndrome- Does it Plague You?

One of the interesting things about success is that many people don’t feel they are worthy of it. In fact, they judge themselves harshly for past mistakes and use that as a reason to feel like a fraud when they achieve key goals or levels of success. Sometimes they end up sabotaging themselves and limiting their growth, all subconsciously. One of the keys to overcoming the fraud syndrome is authenticity.

Be Authentically Yourself

Watching the tv show “The Glee Project,“ what struck me most was how the producer and casting agent wanted these talented young people to be just BE THEMSELVES. All too often, people feel they have to fit into some mold to succeed. We think we have to achieve a certain degree, look a particular way, dress in special clothes to be accepted and loved.

And the truth is the opposite. When you are truly yourself, you are your most loveable and approachable. As people age, they tend to relax more and more, caring less about what others think of them. That is incredibly liberating. As Emerson wrote, “To thine own self, be true.” Live life according to your values and principles, be the wonderful, unique and gifted person that you are and share the best of yourself with others. The world will be a poorer place if you don’t.

@2011 Snowden McFall.  All Rights Reserved. No duplication without permission

Take Responsibility for Your Energy

Like many people, I recorded the finale of the Oprah Winfrey show. Rather than have guests, she gave us a keynote speech filled with incredible wisdom. I’ve shared some of those nuggets below with suggestions for how you can implement them at work. One of my favorites is “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.” How can you prepare for that window of opportunity in your life?

Oprah has inspired millions for decades, and yet managed to make each one of us feel like we mattered to her. Quite a feat, quite a remarkable woman

What Energy are You Sending Out?

Oprah’s also shared about brain specialist Jill Taylor, the author of My Stroke of Insight. This compelling book chronicles her journey from massive stroke to full recovery.

I read it recently when my father had a stroke and it gave me great insight. Jill said “Please take responsibility for the energy you bring into my space.” Doctors who treated her as though she wasn’t there discouraged her; those who looked her in the eye and encouraged her made a world of difference.

So the question is, what kind of energy do you bring into the space of others? It is upbeat, confident, compassionate, or is it critical, impatient, demanding? Think about how you can make a difference in the energy you carry. Also consider what energy comes into your life from others; you may want to limit your exposure to negative people who complain and disparage others.

@2011 Snowden McFall.  All Rights Reserved. No duplication without permission

Burnout Prevention Tip: Just Say No

One of the most effective burnout prevention strategies is also one of the hardest skills to practice: saying no.

Many people who appear calm, effective, and resilient are not managing more than everyone else. They are managing their boundaries better.

Why Saying No Protects Your Energy

If you have a demanding professional life and want to sustain performance without sacrificing your health or family life, limits matter. Evenings filled with constant commitments quickly erode recovery time. More than two nights a week of work or community obligations often begins to tax both energy and relationships.

When pressure is already high, adding new responsibilities compounds exhaustion. Saying no is not avoidance. It is discernment.

How to Say No Without Burning Bridges

An especially effective way to decline additional leadership or board work is to be clear and respectful:

“I only want to give you 100% effort, and right now I can’t do that with all my current commitments. Please ask me again next year so I can re-evaluate.”

Most people appreciate honesty. They would rather have you at your best than overextended and disengaged.

Learning when and how to say no is one of the most reliable ways to prevent burnout before it takes hold. Explore additional strategies leaders use to protect energy and performance at Prevent Burnout.

Sustainable leadership requires limits. Protect yours intentionally.

Conscious Acts of Kindness

A great many studies including one on 2000 people found that being kind to others decreases stress and enhances mental health. Pick one day this week and choose to deliberately commit 5 separate acts of kindness. These should be chosen and intentional acts, but they do not need to be big things. Something as simple as paying the tokens for the people behind you in the toll booth or paying for the next person’s coffee, or taking a muffin to 5 different people in your office- all of those would be great conscious acts of kindness which impact others and most importantly, make you feel happier.

Other examples:

• make a pie for a neighbor who has been shut-in

• pick up extra groceries for a lonely person

• bring doughnuts or bagels to work

• send flowers for no reason

• feed a homeless animal

• clean out your closets and donate to the homeless

Any step you take to share from the heart will make you happier.

Quick Ways to De-Stress At Work

Water and Food Make a Big Impact
Many people are working longer hours and doing the work of several people. Hunched over a computer or isolated in a cubicle, these folks’ very work environment is not conducive to health. So change that. At least 3 times a day, get up, stretch, go for a walk outside, and drink a full glass of water. A 5% drop in body fluids will cause a 25-30% loss in energy. 80% of NorthAmericans are dehydrated!

Add lemon since the scent of lemon cuts keyboard mistakes in half. And eat some pistachios or walnuts to cut inflammation, boost your energy and prevent depression.

Pay Attention to What Brings You Joy!

Harvard research shows the direct correlation between happiness and success; it’s the opposite of what many thought. Be happy first and then you will have greater success in all areas of your life. Happy, optimistic, motivated employees sell 56% more, and are far more productive in all areas of life. So focus on what brings you joy, and do that more often to cope better with stress and have a happier life.

How Happy Are You? Greater Joy Starts With YOU!

You may think that when you get to a certain level of income, or find the right life partner, that you will be truly happy. But the research shows just the opposite is true. You need to be happy first, and then the success, relationships and accomplishment will come.

The latest research out of Harvard on happiness is that the most successful business people, entrepreneurs, doctors and workers are happy first. Sustained performance at the executive level depends on leadership resilience, not willpower alone. Our brains are actually wired to work at maximum creativity, resilience and effectiveness when we are in a state of relaxation and joy. Consider this:

• Doctors put in a positive state before diagnosing show 3x more intelligence and creativity & make diagnoses 19% faster than doctors in a neutral state.

• Optimistic salespeople sell 56% more than pessimists. (Are your salespeople optimists?)

• Happy students far outperform their peers on tests.¹

So how can you get happier?

The old maxim “what you put your focus on manifests” is entirely true. When I was researching and writing my book on stress, I was very attuned to stress; it was my focus. And so, I attracted more of it into my life (subconsciously, of course.) During the year preceding my stress book being published, my sister–in-law died of melanoma, three girlfriends battled cancer and I faced some significant dental issues.

The contrary is also true. Since I have been researching happiness, the quality of my life is significantly better. My husband got a great new job 7 months ago, my friends are coping well with their illnesses. I still have some dental issues but they are being handled easily and effectively. I am the one who made the switch to be happier, and you can, too.

If you’ve been worrying about paying your bills, getting more business, or your health, a much better use of your time and energy would be to focus on getting happy.

Your health and cash flow will improve in direct proportion to your genuinely positive attitude and optimistic perspective.

Here are 3 quick ways to increase your happiness

1. Celebrate your successes- large and small. Create a victory wall at work where you post achievements of any level- articles that have been published about you, your people or your company, progress on work goals. Praise others publicly and specifically, and encourage them to do the same.

2. Find something to look forward to. In one study, people who just thought about watching their favorite movie had an increase of 27% in endorphins- just from thinking about it. Every time something stressful occurs, think about what you are looking forward to and shift your state of mind.

3. Do something you love to do for fun at least 3 times a week. Schedule in your favorite activities and don’t give them up- they will make a huge difference in how you joyful you are and how successful you are at work.

Your life can thrive in all areas, but you need to thrive first. Take the time to really focus on your own happiness and see how it impacts everything!

1. (Data from the book The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor)

#1 Stress Tip

According to a late 2008 report in Forbes, if you get less than 7 hours of sleep at night, you are at a “cognitive disadvantage;” your brain does not function properly. People who get less than 7 hours of sleep are three times more susceptible to colds and lack of sleep is a major cause of obesity and diabetes.

The biggest contributor to stress is lack of sleep.

According to a late 2008 report in Forbes, if you get less than 7 hours of sleep at night, you are at a “cognitive disadvantage;” your brain does not function properly. People who get less than 7 hours of sleep are three times more susceptible to colds and lack of sleep is a major cause of obesity and diabetes. Those who sleep between 7 and 8.9 hours a night on average have healthy weights; those with less do not. Typically, this is an extra 20 pounds of weight.
Entrepreneurs are also very stressed. 13% of those polled by Fortune Small Business reported having trouble getting to sleep every night. So how do we handle it? What do we give up? All too often, we sacrifice precious sleep, which has become increasingly dangerous

So go to bed earlier, do NOT check email & social media before bed, do not take your cellphone to bed prepare yourself to sleep in a quiet, dark room. You’ll be more effective in everything you do.