1 Equation That Reveals the Cause of Your Stress

 Today is a celebration because it is our 100th Believe In Growth Video Newsletter!

To celebrate, I am revamping a favourite episode for you guys with fresh stories whilst staying true to the original concept.

Enjoy!

***

What if you could understand why your heart is thumping faster, your chest feels tighter and you have this pressure around your body?

What could be possible if you learnt to transform your stress into potential creativity, ideas and inspiration?

Thinking back to 15 years ago when I was at medical school, I remember learning a simple equation for blood pressure.

When I started seeing coaching clients, I could see the link between this equation and the everyday causes of stress.

It's like the forefather of psychology, William James, said:

“Your experience is what you choose to attend to.”

Stress seems to be created internally.

I had an insight when I was going through significant stress in my GP partnership - I was at the centre of all my problems.

It's important to take a nuanced view here. I was not knowingly causing my stress, but my stress was being created by a part of me.

When I personally learnt to release resistance and reduce outputs, I started to see my clients do the same.

They started to understand that:

STRESS = RESISTANCE x OUTPUTS

With blood pressure, if you increase resistance in a blood vessel, the pressure increases and if you increase cardiac output (the amount of blood pumped by the heart in one minute) you also see an increase in pressure.

Once we learn to turn down the tap and stop squeezing the proverbial hosepipe, we become masters of our stress.

There are some causes of stress that are unavoidable. I call these the '3 D's of stress'. We can feel stressed when there are:

1. Deadlines

2. Dependents

3. Decisions

Most of these are unavoidable, but we can learn to respond to them with compassion, calmness and wisdom.

Here are two powerful strategies to reduce stress so you can stay focused on your powerful mission:

1. Release Resistance

I remember working with a CEO who was overwhelmed with their business and personal demands. They were rigid in their thinking. There were certain things that 'had to' or 'must' get done. As a consequence, they were resistant to the flow of life.

When we were deep in discussion they shared with me that on the weekend, instead of resting, they would engage in multiple house tasks. I challenged them to release their need to be perfect, to control and to do everything themselves.

That was a pattern, a blindspot that they had not realised and, with that insight, they had a shift in action.

They hired some extra help at work and at home by releasing resistance. They could breath lighter and rest without pressure. What ensued was their best ever business year, even in economic challenge.

2. Reduce Outputs

Many of us buy into the 'hustle culture'. We buy into the 'work more, get more' ethos. This certainly works, but it comes at a cost -

Heart attacks, broken relationships and constantly chasing security.

I worked with a client who spent their whole career chasing deals and being very successful on the outside, but internally they were unfulfilled. They were experiencing a lot of personal challenges with their relationships and health.

It took some deep inner work for them to realise they were slightly addicted to and stimulated by the buzz of being over obligated. Through challenging coaching, they were able to let go of that parts of themselves that no longer served them.

This resulted in them learning to delegate, reducing their decisions and deadlines. They started to get their energy back allowing them to pursue a dream of learning to skipper a boat.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or overcommitted, what could you reduce? What would the consequences be? Could that bring you more success and fulfilment in the long run?

***