5 Simple, Effective Ways for Business Owners to Lower Stress Levels
At the end of the day, stress and business ownership go hand in hand. Entrepreneurs know this, and they understand that’s what they’re signing up for when they start their own company. However, it’s easy for that stress to become too intense or too persistent. When this happens, you’re at risk for a myriad of health issues, not to mention serious burnout.
The Olive Leaf is dedicated to helping people find wellness solutions that bring health and happiness. The following habits are shockingly effective when it comes to managing stress. Read on for stress-busting inspiration:
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Eat Right
One of the simplest ways you can reduce stress is to make sure your body has the vitamins and nutrients it needs to thrive. When we’re well-nourished, our bodies produce fewer stress hormones and have an easier time regulating emotions. There’s a whole world of approaches to meeting your nutritional goals out there, so try some and see what works for you. At the end of the day, if you’re getting protein, healthy fats, and plenty of fruits and veggies, odds are you’re doing right by your body.
If you have trouble sticking with a good nutritional plan, don’t be afraid to give yourself shortcuts. There’s nothing wrong with getting vitamins and nutrients through dietary supplements, for example, as long as they’re legitimate, well-reviewed, and doctor-approved. You can also use meal-prep techniques such as premade smoothie bags to make snacks and mealtimes easier. Little steps that make your day-to-day nutrition goals easier always pay off.
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Exercise Daily
Exercise is one of the single most effective tools when it comes to reducing stress and anxiety. Our bodies are meant to move, but in our ever-more sedentary lives, opportunities for movement are few and far between. That’s why it’s so important to make an active effort to exercise every day. In doing so, we help regulate our energy levels and avoid building up anxious energy by accident.
The best way to stay active is to work on figuring out what kind of exercise excites you. Think back to when you were a kid: You didn’t run around the playground to burn off energy; you did it because it was fun. Try to tap into that same energy now by trying dance workouts, joining a casual sports team, or even indulging in a throwback to childhood such as skating or hula-hooping.
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Get Enough Rest
Rest and recovery are exercise’s natural companions, and you must have both in order to achieve wellness. Entrepreneurs have an abundance of drive and passion, but it can sometimes lead them to run themselves into the ground. It’s extremely important to take time to rest, both for physical health and emotional well-being. ZenBusiness even notes that vacation has been shown to be the most effective way to reduce stress.
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Schedule Downtime
Although getting at least seven hours of sleep a night is a good start, it’s not just bedtime you should be concerned about. It’s also vital to have downtime during your day. If you spend every waking minute focused on work or betterment, you’re going to wear yourself out. Be sure to work in time to engage in a creative hobby or enjoy a leisurely walk.
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Set Specific Goals
Entrepreneurs, on the whole, tend to be goal-oriented people. You can use that skill in your personal life just as well as you can in your professional one. Come up with specific, achievable goals that will help you develop stress-busting habits. For example, they could be centered on the topics above or on other stress busters such as meditation, reading, or committing to a creative hobby.
At the end of the day, your goals should be centered on actions you can take, not the results you want to see. Though you can track your results to see what’s working, you can’t guarantee what will or won’t happen when you commit to a specific stress-management tool. By taking specific actions and observing their results, you can figure out how to effectively manage stress, making it easier to take your entrepreneurial goals by storm.
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