This week we set aside a holiday to remember and celebrate all presidents who have served our country. It is clear that presidents deal with endless stressful events. Recent Presidents have had to deal with the pandemic, political friction, economic worries, and global conflicts among many other issues. How do you keep your own perspective in the midst of such challenges? There are multiple ways to manage stress including proper sleep, diet, maintenance of support systems, and taking time off. However, I have noticed four stress management strategies which historically I believe have served many of our presidents well and may also serve you. Consider the following:
1. Eliminate Negative Self-Talk. When was the last time you heard any President or major leader putting themselves down or voicing negative thoughts about themselves? It's not that they don't have them. Instead, it is the ability to notice what you're thinking, write it down if needed, and thereby loosen the power you give to the negative thought. Blair Singer, a coach/trainer I've studied, talks about "little voice management" and how your use of extremes such as "never", "worst", and "overwhelmned" are both not true and interfere with your best functioning. The brain does not know what is true but rather responds to your degree of negativity. Eliminate your negative self talk.
2. Restructure your perspective. When you are feeling stressed, your tendency is to blame the circumstances for your upset and worry. Would it not be easy for most Presidents to blame external events and crises for why they feel stressed? However, the key is how you respond to the challenges. In a famous book titled Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl described his imprisonment in a Nazi death camp. He noted that although everything in his life could be controlled, no one but he could control how he reacted to his circumstances. In taking control to restructure his perspective, he adapted to an exceptionally traumatic and stressful circumstance. Have you ever heard a President say "I'm a complete failure", or "Nothing will work out"? I doubt it. Instead, to correct this tendency to which we are prone, identify and challenge the thoughts/statements/beliefs causing the distress. After all, none of the above statements are true and your mindset influences your brain. Presidents have advisors and cabinets to help them with this but you can do it yourself.
3. Practice breathing. How do you feel when you hurry speaking without taking regular breaths? Probably more tense. The practice of being aware of your breathing is common to many relaxation strategies including meditation, yoga, mindfulness, and progressive muscle relaxation. When you feel stressed, focus on your breathing for just a minute or two. This keeps your mind from straying onto worrisome events and slows you down. Presidents take the time to pace themselves and this helps them generally maintain a calm attitude even in the face of crises.
4. Practice gratitude. Take time to note, say, write down, or share several things each day for which you are grateful. It works to help improve mood, lessen tension, and increase energy. Research studies have shown that it helps reduce the stress hormone cortisol, which may be involved in the improvements noted.
While few of us, including me, face the stresses of a death camp or pressures of life and death world events, our daily world confronts us with many challenges. How you respond to these challenges influences your mood, energy, well being, and physical health. The good news is that you have more control over your response than you might have thought. In our book on stress management (I Can't Take It Anymore: How to Manage Stress so It Doesn't Manage You; Paul G. Longobardi, Ph.D., and Janice B. Longobardi, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N.), available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542458056, we discuss these issues and much more. If you want to know more about the book and authors, please visit our website at www.manageyourhealthandstress.com.
Let us give thanks for the presidency this week and learn what we can from many of our leaders. While stress is inevitable, your response is a choice. Best of luck on your journey.
Dr. Paul Longobardi
For more information on these and related topics, please go to my website at www.successandmindset.com.