3 Ways to Reduce Stress and Focus On Success

We are heading into March, a time for spring cleaning and organization. How has your New Year's been going?  I hope you've had a great start to the year.  My New Year's consisted of celebrating my success by going to Cabo San Lucas with my husband for a week in the sun. What a great way to unwind and enjoy life!

During my vacation, I came to the realization that it is very important to celebrate when business and life have been good to us. I also realized that it is necessary to find ways to reduce stress in our daily lives. Ordinarily our calendar is hectic with multiple appointments, busy activities, and too much to do. When we give the mind time to clear and become more focused we can see things we may not have noticed before.  We must learn ways to reduce stress and focus on what we do best. Here are three ways:

Meditation

If you have never tried meditation as a form of reducing stress, you might want to give it a try. Search for beginning classes in your area and discover the wonderful benefits of mediation such as lowering your blood pressure, steadying your concentration, and clearing your mind of negativity. Although you could teach yourself to meditate, I have found that when you take a class you will receive the right kind of training necessary to be successful at meditating regularly.

Joy

One reason stress creeps into our lives is because we don't take the time to have fun and do the things that naturally reduce stress. When we don't take the time to experience joy, our lives become continuous days of harried activities.  So how do we experience joy? By going for walks in nature, connecting with friends and relatives, writing about our hopes and dreams, getting a massage, and generally treating ourselves well. If you don't regularly experience joy, think about how you can incorporate more happiness in your life.

Say No

Is your schedule full of activities? Are you running from one appointment to another? Do you find yourself saying yes to all activities and requests? If so, you could be stressing yourself out by simply not having boundaries that protect you.  I find that when my clients are too busy, it's because they say yes to everything. If you have too many appointments, reduce the number that you generally allow yourself to schedule. When asked to be involved in an activity or project, what you might try instead of saying yes, is to say you'll think about it. The key is to be very selective with what you are willing to do with your time.    

Stress prevents us from living up to our full potential by occupying our minds and keeping us busy worrying about things that may never happen. By working on eliminating stress though mediation, joy and saying no, we can take control of our lives and focus on success.

Suzanne Muusers

Business Coach for Financial Advisors