It has been creeping up on me, but I really noticed it when the economic crisis came into full bloom. I am sure it has been exacerbated by the incredible amount of negative political advertising that we have all been bombarded with over the last couple of months. What does this anxiousness mean for business? The pressures of the holidays are upon us. Family expectations. Job expectations. Et cetera, et cetera.
You face extraordinary demands that require endurance, discipline and focus. You want to bring your ‘A’ game everyday and be able to sustain your high performance. High performance depends as much on how you react to anxiety, and how you renew and recover energy as it does on how you expend it. When you feel strong and resilient, you will perform better - with more passion, for longer.
If you are ever hit with what feels like a tsunami of issues, worries, anxiety, read on. Here are some of the things I try to notice and then address.
Pay attention to where and how this anxiety hits you physically.
Where
For me, anxiety shows up as tension in my neck and shoulders. Occasionally I get the knot in the stomach too. As I have said in earlier columns, the first step is to consciously notice something is going on. When you become aware – stop and breathe, deeply breathe, into the tense parts of your body. Take some quiet time for yourself and meditate. A real key to calming the anxiety is to learn to take quick personal breaks in your hectic day. I know: I sound like I have no idea what your day is like. Trust me, I do. Having spent 30+ years in corporate America, I get the rat race. It will serve you well to slow down, do a one-minute, self focused quiet time. Build into your day quiet time that’s free from appointments, emails and phone calls.
Next, at the risk of sounding contradictory, move your body! Exercise. Just move around. Go up and down a flight of stairs or walk briskly. This exercise will help get the oxygen back in your system and get you reinvigorated. You should also build into your routine a 30 minute workout every other day. This workout will help both your endurance and your mental acuity.
How
“How” shows up for me as perpetual eating. When I get uptight I really start grazing. What happens with you? Do you become a bear to work with? Do you “hide” and become unavailable? How do your behaviors change? Once again, I am coming back to the importance of noticing – being conscious. For me, when I find myself in the grazing mode I become more focused on being disciplined about my diet. Get the junk food out of my reach; drink more water; cut out the simple sugars and just get more balanced in the proper foods.
Pay attention to how you are reacting. Break bad habits. When anxiety hits you, what is your usual reaction? What is your strategy for avoiding anxiety? Personally, I either pretend it is not there or I become busy but without focus (working harder not necessarily smarter). Or, I wait for something to react to (rather than being pro-active). Take a risk, break the old routine and establish a new reaction. What is positive about what is going on? How can you take this feeling of being overwhelmed and make it work for you?
You can choose from myriad exercises and behaviors to combat anxiety. Find the ones that work for you and be conscious about building them into your routine.
As always, if you would like to talk more contact me at 763-521-003 or steve@dreamengineering.com.