Our overall health relies heavily on the state of our emotions. Finding ways to be optimistic and positive can greatly strengthen your immune system. "Burnout" is an official diagnosis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), meaning workers can receive short-term disability from basically becoming overly stressed out in life, on the job or a combination of the two. There’s little doubt the extent of COVID-19 came about due to the overwhelming research that shows stress causes chronic illnesses.
Managing Stress
As a Western society, we have to get better at learning to manage the stress, when to say "no" to over-scheduling ourselves and learning to take time for ourselves by tuning out the constant chatter that is available to participate in (e.g. social media). Stimulating your right brain to use the creative center of the mind allows you to slow down and get in alignment with other perspectives, and feel more authentic and confident with who you truly are. Simple daydreaming about big questions such as "What makes me feel alive?" or "How can I make a difference this year?" triggers our imagination and brainstorming big ideas. This can be a very helpful step to get into a new mental flow.
Shifting Your Focus
Some types of "stress" are actually a good thing. Stress can be the thing that pushes you to work harder to get that promotion or run the extra mile in training. Stress can move us along to help us learn and grow. Without any stress, we might find ourselves staring at a wall, mentally peeling off paint. However, left unchecked, stress can be actually deadly. Without any type of personal boundary or skills to stop the downward spiral, stress can cause us to want things we don't need and encourage debt, put off happiness to a future date until X occurs, pity our job placement or new boss, and the list goes on. Stress can kidnap your thinking and cause thoughts of low self-esteem and constant complaints about life's perils. Gratitude alone gets us out of this mindset. When we feel grateful for what we have or don't have (e.g. illness, debt), it literally shifts the focus. Gratitude comes from a place of abundance, and from this standpoint, increased abundance is created.
Stress is a derivative of self-pity and this feeling can be hard to avoid at times, but it is a mentally strong choice to choose and learn how to get out of the negative cycle. Try to think of something that you are grateful for AND makes you feel unhappy. It is nearly impossible. In fact, most of the time you feel the happiness and a smile grows inside, and if you allow yourself, you will actually form a smile on the outside. This can grow to an actual, audible laugh. Gratitude creates happiness – it’s a scientific fact. The growth opportunities are endless when you choose to be grateful. People that are chronically stressed are soliciting this feeling from a place of unhappiness. By switching the focus to gratitude, you can change your whole mindset and create a more peaceful situation in the moment. These small moments can become new paths to create better outcomes for the future.
Reflect On What Makes You Happy
Each morning, write down a person and a “thing” (e.g. activity or place) that makes you happy and thankful. Follow this by a few minutes of meditation, reflecting on what you wrote down, and appreciate being in the moment. When you can turn to gratitude, it makes it easier for the fear to become smaller. You shouldn’t ignore anxiety or worry, but it’s possible to make sure it doesn’t have a front-row seat in your life.