Happy Holidays! The last couple of months I have written articles about my time management solution ( Simple Fall Challenge and ToDoNow To Get Things Done ). One of the best reasons to build a time management system that works for your life is to lower your stress levels.
There is another powerful way to visualize this concept: taking control of your destiny.
When I started my first job in corporate America out of college, I felt like so much was out of my control. I had to work fairly long hours to stay afloat in a challenging role. And partly as a result of this, my time for exercise, good nutrition, and proper sleep dropped. Slowly but surely my energy levels dropped too and I’d come home exhausted and crash on the couch until it was time for bed and then I’d do the same thing the next day with my fitness and health levels dropping a small amount most days. This turned into a vicious cycle, the opposite of a virtuous cycle.
At one point, a co-worker who wasn’t very healthy said to me: “I only have 7 years, 6 months, and 5 days until I retire.” (I can’t remember the exact numbers, but you get the point.)
I realized this could be me if I didn’t take action. This is when I started my 10+ fitness minutes streak where I set a goal to do at least 10 minutes of physical activity every day and see how many days in a row I could do this as a way to stay consistent. I did this 700 days in a row and it changed my life! I’ll write about streaks more in another article. Today I want to focus on the first result of this streak. I thought the first result would be getting in better shape. But the first result was mental: I started feeling more in control of my destiny.
Feeling more in control of my destiny had a profound impact on my stress levels. I started viewing work and other areas of life as challenging opportunities to improve instead of stressors.
You might think at first this is a simple mental trick, but it’s not. Our bodies developed a physiological response to stress because in the distant past, whatever was causing you stress might literally kill you – like being chased by a bear. Of course, this type of emergency situation still happens today, but now it’s more likely for us to experience stress from a work task or something happening on social media than it is to have a bear chasing us (I hope!)
This response to stress includes releasing the hormone cortisol. Cortisol can help you have extreme focus in emergency situations, but this release of cortisol too often can lead to significant negative health effects. One reason goes back to the way the stress response works. When your body releases cortisol, physical activity (like running away from the bear) helps dissipate this cortisol. This is one reason I like taking fitness breaks throughout the day especially when I’m stressed out about something.
I hope you see a pattern developing here: all of this is connected. We’ve gone from time management solutions by setting and reaching one small goal at a time to taking control of your destiny to viewing a stimulus as a challenging opportunity instead of a stressor to consistently doing small amounts of physical activity. It’s hard to just “turn this on” and get all of the immediate benefits. Instead, it’s a skill that takes practice.
I decided to write about this topic this month since we’re in the throes of the holiday season and this is often accompanied by stress. I hope you will view this as a challenging opportunity to practice these skills instead of as a stressor :).
If you haven’t connected with me yet in the community, here is my profile (you need to be logged in). I’d love to connect! Let me know if you have any questions about viewing life as a challenge or anything else once we connect.
Have a great month and happy holidays!
Chris “SparkGuy” Downie
PeopleOne Health Co-founder & Executive Board Chair
