According to Tiffany:

Immediate Ways to Kill Stress:

Stress can come in multiple forms. It's all about how you balance and think about the choices you make leading up to the stressors. Take a step back, breathe, and get refocused on the goal.

- Snap back to reality. Stop. Think before you act. Meditate before something important. Breathe.

- Ground yourself in the present moment. Take five minutes to meditate. Try a mantra, step outside for air, close your eyes, and breathe. Pay attention to your surroundings, and bring attention to the here and now.

- Confide in someone.

Combatting stress is all about figuring out where it is coming from, then coping with it at the moment. Once you have calmed down, return to the moment and pat yourself on the back once you have accomplished this - it teaches your brain how to do it automatically.

Be your own best friend.

Take time to write out any stressors and think about them.

Only you have the power to control your life and your thoughts.

A Book in Time's Commentary:

Writing things down can be a method of reducing stress:

PPS CLIP:

Professionally:

The Power of Writing ‘It’ Down

As you know, setting goals is a non-negotiable step for successful people. To take that one giant step further, rather than an annual January resolution goal-setting, make goal-setting a DAILY event! That’s right, I said daily. Choose a time of day, either the beginning or the end of the day. Pick the one that you are most likely to commit yourself to. For the sake of choice, I’ll focus on the first part of the day. Write them down. I start every morning by grounding myself in the Word. The Bible is full of advice for EXTREME success professionally, personally, and spiritually.

Once grounded, I review my to-do list from the previous day and write out my goals (again) and the list of items I plan on accomplishing that day. This is a daily event to rewrite my goals, plus the "to-do" list that will lead to their accomplishment. The goals are longer-term events, and there is no better way to speed up the process of goal accomplishment than to rewrite them every day. As was mentioned in previous blogs, where attention goes, energy flows, and actions show. If you focus on your goals EVERY day, your conscious and subconscious minds will continually search and discover creative ways to make them come to fruition. The mind has a way of affecting the flooding of energy to where the attention is cast.

Earlier, we also discussed the importance of declarations. Write down as many declarations that you find helpful that align with your goals. Every day read them aloud, a few times a day, along with the goals. What gets written gets done. Do not be afraid to write goals that appear out of reach or bigger than you believe possible. Whatever you think is "reasonable," double it! Maybe even triple it!  Wouldn’t you rather slightly fail to reach a triple goal than slightly fail to reach a "reasonable" goal? When you strive for more with the right attitude and intentions, God will provide the strength you need to continue to help get you there. Watch enthusiastically as things become easier and fall into place, and goals become achieved well under the pre-determined timeframe and at levels greater than expected.

“Decide what it is you want, write it down, review it constantly, and each day do something that moves you toward those goals.”

Jack Canfield

“A goal that is not written is not a goal. It only becomes real when you write it down.”

Bryant McGill

Personally:

Decisiveness

Indecision can be exhausting and frustrating. Decisiveness is an especially desirable skill in business and very helpful in your personal life. According to wholegraindigital.com, "Few people put their trust in a person who overthinks and protracts the most basic of decisions – it makes us question their knowledge and experience. We’re far more likely to put our trust in a person who knows where they are going and can make clear, confident decisions than to put our faith in somebody who is paralyzed by indecision”.

Some benefits of being decisive include:

• Reduced procrastination
• More productivity
• More organized
• More peace of mind
• Decreased anxiety
• Improved confidence

Knowing how to be decisive is a trait of true leaders, and it shows confidence, competence, and charisma when you commit to a decision. As Tony Robbins says, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped,” – and we all want to shape our own destinies.

Many decisions you make daily are determined by your habits. Tony also says, “Learning how to be decisive when it matters leads us down a path of confidence, fulfillment and joy – while being indecisive will cause us uncertainty, pain and suffering.” And being decisive isn’t even about being right. Even if you are wrong, you will become a better person. Decisive people embody many strong and appealing qualities, such as being resilient and having lots of inner strength; they are excellent problem solvers and make great leaders.

Now the biggest question is, how do you become more decisive? Fortunately, being decisive is a skill that you can practice. Tony shares that a few steps can be taken, starting with your mindset.

• Overcome your fears.  If you are indecisive, you probably have some underlying fears. Decisions generally involve a change of some sort. Work towards being open to change rather than being fearful of it. Acknowledge and learn to accept that things are always changing, take control of this fear, and take control of your life.
• Stop overanalyzing.  You generally learn more from a wrong decision than from the right one. It is okay to make mistakes. People are very forgiving, and more often than not, people are rooting for each other to do well. For example, think of when someone falls into a competition. The bystanders cheer when that person gets up and continues the race. Often they cheer even more for that person than other competitors and see them through until the finish line. So, do not be afraid of making a mistake. A poor decision often leads to a better one down the road. True leadership derives from the ability to decide even when you are unsure whether or not you are right.
• Visualize the outcomes.  You can apply visualization concepts to decision-making as you do for goal-achieving strategies. Visualize positive, negative, and even neutral outcomes. This process will continue to condition your mind for quicker and easier decisions in the future.
• Make smaller decisions.  Practice is the key to your decision-making "muscles." If a big decision seems too overwhelming, break it down into smaller decisions, giving you more decision-making practice along the way.
• Don’t chase perfection.  Perfection is another way that fear controls your choices. Sometimes "good enough" is the "perfect" answer. Perfection itself is an obstacle to decision-making. Consider some options that make the process easier to get you closer to the goal. You do not have to have all the answers immediately. What’s important is to have "an" answer and deliver it at the moment it is needed. You can always adjust, improve, or add to your decision later. If you need to, you can further visualize the consequences if your decision wasn’t completely accurate…I would venture to say everything ended up just fine. Consider the decisions as stepping stones rather than urgently-needing-to-be-right answers.
• Back your decisions with action.  Make it your decision to be decisive and move forward boldly with further actions to confirm or adjust the outcomes of this choice. Follow through until you see the results you desire. Be confident in yourself.
• Educate yourself.  The best leaders learn everything they can about a situation, job, circumstance, or opportunity and learn all of the skills necessary to be effective in every situation. Learn from books, blogs, other leaders, or mentors. Find an accountability partner to share in your decision-building quest. Successful people constantly look to improve their knowledge and skills and gather as much information as possible.
• Take massive action.  As Tony says, “A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided”.

Fear of failure is the biggest obstacle to becoming more decisive. Deciding to improve your decisiveness is life-changing. It is a skill that can be mastered but must be practiced. If you take the time and put lots of effort into mastering this skill, you will never regret the benefits that result from it in both your professional and personal life.

“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.”

Napolean Bonaparte

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”

Douglas MacArthur

Spiritually:

Ground Yourself

"Grounding yourself"’ means making yourself aware of the present moment. You aren’t regretting the past or feeling anxious about the future; you are focused on what is happening to you right now. Being grounded allows you to calm your feelings and emotions and clear your busy mind, bringing you to the current moment physically, mentally, and spiritually. It also lets you feel more in control of your life and circumstances.

There are many different techniques to ground yourself, and everyone responds differently to each technique. According to hackspirit.com, grounding yourself is “An opportunity to engage with your surroundings and pick apart your tangible qualities, and use to anchor your own state of being.”  “As an exercise, it keeps your mind from wandering off outside the present and teaches you to focus on what is right in front of you.”

Some examples of physical grounding techniques are as follows:

• Main technique: Five senses meditation.  This takes your mind off things you cannot control and brings you back to things you can. Focus on one thing and experience it vividly through the five senses. For example, take a few minutes to close your eyes (after you read this). What do you hear? Feel? Smell? Continue through each of the senses and try it while doing different things, such as showering, bathing, brushing your teeth, etc. By focusing on the present moment, you train your mind to stay calm, relaxed, and aware.
• Eat really hot and really cold foods.  Follow this method with extreme temperatures and explore how your senses are affected.
• Try a "walk meditation."  As you walk, observe a mind-muscle connection with each step you take.
• Take deep breaths.  Bring awareness to your breathing and be intentional. When you allow stress into your day, your breathing becomes shallower. Changing to this type of intentional, slow, deep breathing will enable you to become grounded again. Notice a difference between breathing by expanding your chest versus expanding your belly (belly breathing), as uninhibited babies do. How does each way make you feel? Allow the oxygen to energize your muscles and clear your mind.
• Place your hands or feet in water.  Be mindful of any temperature changes and how your skin feels.
• Hold a piece of ice.  Explore your senses. How long does it take to melt?
• Savor a scent.  What smell appeals the most to you? Bask in the qualities of this scent.
• Listen to your surroundings.  Enjoy the sounds of the birds. Are they chirping or singing?  What other sounds do you hear?

A few suggestions for mental grounding techniques are listed below:

• Make yourself laugh.
• Visualize a task you enjoy.
• Keep a journal.
• Memorize or recite something.
• Picture someone you love.
• Pet your pet.
• Visualize a fun place you would like to visit.
• Visualize your problem disappearing or floating away.

Examples of some spiritual techniques:

• Listen to music.
• Focus on others.
• Touch something comforting.
• Pray
• Meditate
• Name or write down things you are grateful for.
• Listen to nature sounds.
• Listen to the sound of water.

Being ungrounded is disassociating yourself from your mind and body. It is a type of defense mechanism that happens to everyone at one point or another. The important thing is to recognize when you become ungrounded and find a technique that works for you, to bring you back to the present moment and realign your thoughts and focus. This will become easier with practice.

“Get yourself grounded and you can navigate even the stormiest roads of peace.”

Steve Goodier

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