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Tag: stress relief

Feeling Stressed? New Challenges Inspire New Hobbies

As we approach year-three of the global pandemic, more and more people are seeking new hobbies and ways to stay active while working from home. For many, juggling work and home life during the pandemic has turned both into stressful environments, and more people than ever are expressing feelings of burnout.

Studies have shown that one of the best and most positive methods to decrease stress is to regularly engage in an enjoyable activity.

And let’s face it — even without a global pandemic, life in the real world is stressful. Whether you work a demanding job or pay attention to politics, and other triggers, odds are good that you have at least one reason to need to blow off some serious steam. In come, hobbies.

Axe Whooping
Axe Whooping, Denver.

Studies have shown that one of the best and most positive methods to decrease stress is to regularly engage in an enjoyable activity. Some people love running or meditation, others complete puzzles or play board games. Throughout the pandemic, hobbies have been an important part of stress regulation, fulfillment, and more. While chucking axes may seem less serene, there are few activities that cut right to the chase.

As the owner of an axe-throwing venue with locations in Denver and Boulder, I’ve witnessed first-hand how this activity has the ability to leave people feeling revitalized.

Rage Room
Rage Room offers an additional space for stress relief activities.

Over the last two years, I’ve worked on revamping the online presence of my business to encourage local residents and visitors to come out and try something new. We started posting Instagram Reels of our staff throwing axes, hoping to show potential customers how they are able to channel their “inner warrior” at our venues. We’ve since featured our customers’ axe-throwing, with some of these videos reaching over 5,000 views. The comments and responses we receive from our community after posting these Reels are always fun and filled with positivity. It’s simple — taking a second to forget about the world around you, in a hobby like axe-throwing, can offer simple, silly, mindless fun.

We all have hobbies we already love — it’s important we take care to maintain them in order to help us through stressful times. As we embrace the new year, whether it’s physical endeavors or bird-watching at the park, we encourage you to embrace new activities and new experiences. Who knows, you might just enjoy something you never thought you would.

 

Curtis RoundtreeCurtis Roundtree was born and raised in Colorado and is the owner and founder of Axe Whooping – Axe Throwing and Rage Room with a location in Denver and one in Boulder. “I didn’t grow up with much, and it has always been a goal of mine to start a business that would leave a positive impact on the community. I truly believe that this business has created an avenue for people to express themselves, and it has proven to be extremely therapeutic,” says Roundtree. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, and directly online, to learn more about new events and specials.

(In-line photos, courtesy of Axe Whooping)

How to take action in the midst of uncertainty

Let’s face it, there are plenty triggers all around these days that easily toss you into the fog, you can’t see where you are going, what’s around the corner or how things will turn out. Are you feeling uncertainty taking up residence between your two ears?

When you are uncertain you are not confident or don’t feel you can rely on something. What is that “something” for you today? Your health? Finances? Relationships? Your Career? Those in leadership positions that directly impact your sense of wellbeing?

We could go on and on as there are numerous triggers linked to the feeling that you cannot rely on something.

Let’s nail it down for you today and explore how to keep moving forward on the windy roads of uncertainty.

I will often reference the act of quarantining your thoughts that hijack your confidence when I work with clients as quickly as possible.

There are several tools to help you get the uncertainty out of your mind, below are just a few for you to explore:

  1. Take a piece of paper fold it in half length wise. Or draw a T chart (a large capital T that divides your piece of paper in half). On the top left side write: Stressor. On the top right side write: Action. As soon as you identify that “something” that is triggering uncertainty, the feeling that you can’t rely on it, write it down under the Stressor.
    Next, brainstorm an action step you can take to move in a positive direction. For example, let’s say you are stressed about the thought of losing your job which is igniting feelings of uncertainty and releasing stress in your body. Get it out of your head ASAP and write it down on the paper.
    Next explore your available resources that support you. An example of an action that you could take would be to connect or reconnect with other individuals who are in your industry and explore potential back up plans if you have observable data that supports your stressor of possibly losing your job.
  2. Resist the urge to make assumptions and conclusions. Commit to focusing on observable data. Avoid mind-reading and fortune telling: I just know they are going to force me out of my job. Do you know that for sure? Push back on those thoughts that exist outside of observable data. If someone who is in the power position to actually let you go and they said: “Hey, your job is on the line.” Then you can take action on that observable data. Don’t create the drama and cast yourself as the main character. Get off the stage and camp on the observable data. Review The Ladder of Inference
  3. Erase and Replace: Erase the negative catastrophizing thoughts that are linked to uncertainty and replace them with what you are certain about in your life. The definition of certain is: known for sure; established beyond doubt, having complete conviction about something, confident. What do you know for sure, in spite of the uncertainty? What is established beyond doubt in your life? What do you have complete conviction about? When was a time in your life you felt uncertain about something?
    You re-established confidence as a result of focusing on what you know to be true about yourself, your life, your relationship with others, your talents and abilities.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I’ll pull back the curtain of vulnerability a bit and share a time of uncertainty within my own life. Back in 2006 I was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer one week prior to my final divorce court date, with 3 young children. I didn’t drink, smoke or eat unhealthy foods and yet my body was dying. The link between stress and disease is growing with each decade.

A landmark study out of the University of London concluded that stress is more of a contributing factor to cancer and heart disease than cigarette smoking or high cholesterol foods. In less than a two-year period of time I went through a divorce, double mastectomy, 16 chemotherapy treatments, an additional year of experimental chemotherapy, 6 weeks of daily radiation, 14 surgeries due to third degree burns from the radiation/chemo combination they had to graphed my back onto my front, so I really don’t know if I’m coming or going these days and a MRSA staph infection that kept me in the ICU for a week.

When I went through advanced cancer and divorce at the same time, uncertainty was a constant resident taking up way too much landscape between my two ears. Perhaps that’s you today.

Is there something in your life that is a constant source of uncertainty? It got to the point where I knew that if I didn’t take every thought captive for life and healing that the battle would rage within my body and perhaps overcome me. One phrase I used daily when the fear of uncertainty gripped me was: “I’ve done difficult things before and I can do it again.”

To keep my mind in the moment I would say: “Be here now, you lack nothing in the present moment. The solution lies in my ability to do the best I can with the task at hand.”

I invite you to explore coming up with a battle cry as you run towards enemy lines. The unknown thing which you feel is bigger than your strength to handle it successfully.

What is your battle cry that you will declare as you run into the storm, drive on the foggy road into the unknown?   ____________________________________________________

I still declare these frequently when the familiar uncertainty serpent slithers in and robs me of my God given ability to remember: “I’ve walked through the eye of the storm before and I can do it again.”

I would also declare my desired state of being in the form of a gratitude prayer, feel free to make this your own with your own situation that fuels uncertainty: Thank You My Healing, down to the cellular level! The doctors were trying to get me 5 more years of life back in 2006. I beat the odds and you can too.

Remember, stress is the power you give to outside circumstances to define what you believe you are capable of handling successfully. Resist the urge to give more authority to your circumstance than to your inner ability to handle it successfully. Raise the bar today and declare your battle cry towards victory over uncertainty. You are not alone in your struggle; all things are possible for those who believe.

 Lauren E. Miller has a Masters in Adult Education with a Certification in Human Resources Development. She has personally conquered two of life’s top stressors at the same time, advanced cancer and divorce. Now Google’s #1 Stress Relief Expert, Award Winning Author, HRD Trainer and Certified Sherpa Executive Coach, Lauren provides process driven programs and custom trainings with structure, guidance, support and accountability designed to create positive change in behavior resulting in positive impact on business (IOB) and life purpose. Explore more at http://LaurenEMiller.com.

Get back to business as unusual

According to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, workers who report that they are stressed incur health care costs that are 46% higher, or an average of $600 more per person, than other employees. Offering stress management programs to your employees is a worthwhile investment on many levels. When events occur in life that are void of options, like the coronavirus pandemic and resulting shutdown, stress is a natural reaction. Whether you are a small business owner or large corporation there is specific protocol in place that you must follow in order to begin to open your doors and get back to business. However, it’s not business as usual but rather business as unusual.

Usual vs. Unusual

People gravitate toward what is familiar. Do you miss your office space? Client meetings at restaurants? Casual conversations with your colleagues throughout the workday? The ability to walk down the hall and check in with team members? Face to face meetings and interactions? You’re not alone. When common occurrences are suddenly taken away, there is a grieving process. However, that comes with an incredible opportunity to practice being adaptable and creative. A person’s stress increases as their available options decrease. Several of my coaching clients have expressed a desire to go back to business as usual. Let’s take a closer look at the word usual. Usual means something that is habitually or typically done. However, usual can get boring as it is void of inspiration and creativity. Healthy habits are important for optimal wellness in life; however, when habits are completed because it’s easier to do them rather than initiate change, we miss opportunities for innovation. And innovation is essential to the creative process for expansion in business and in life. Let’s take a closer look at the definition of unusual: remarkable or interesting because it’s different. What would it take to shift your focus from business as usual (actions that are typically done) to business as unusual (remarkable and interesting)? As a small business owner of 20 years, I have decided, during this time of uncertainty, to shift my mental focus from what’s not working out to what is working out in order to maximize my available resources. Remember, you are the landlord of your thought life. You can give free rent to negative behaviors or you can make the decision to focus on expanding innovation, creating positive behaviors. The choice is yours. Perhaps it’s time to evict a mental position that is keeping you stuck. You feel stress when you give away power to outside circumstances. Instead, define for yourself what you can capable of.

Jumpstart a creative mindset

If there has ever been a time for original and creative thinking in business, now is the time. Below are several coaching questions designed to jumpstart an innovative mindset:

  • What do you want now? State your answer in the positive: “I want to expand targeted marketing efforts in a cost effective way.”
  • What will it do for you specifically?
  • How is your life going to be affected?
  • How will you know when you have it?
  • What will it feel like and sound like and look like? You are making it real.
  • Where, when and with whom do you want this?
  • How will this affect other aspects and people in your life?
  • What prevents you from having this already? This question reveals how you get in your own way.
  • What resources do you already have to obtain your desired outcome?
  • What additional resources do you need to get what you want? This may include physical, mental, emotional or spiritual resources.
  • How are you going to get it? This is the big question that leads to the plan of action and writing down the steps you will take to get to your desired outcome.
  • Is there more than one way to accomplish the desired outcome? This question opens up options, which will boost innovative thinking and decrease stress.

Your perception of the world around you flows directly from your perception of yourself. Do you see the world as safe or unsafe? Do you face challenges with flexibility and curiosity or with assumptions and reactive behavior?

Grab & Go stress relief tip for business as unusual

When you shift your perception of self, your view of reality shifts. To be adaptable during the unusual work environment it is essential to honor the BRAC: The Basic Rest Activity Cycle of the brain. Your brain is high functioning for 90 minutes and then rests for 20. If you want to maximize innovative thinking, take a 20-minute break to rest every 90 minutes in your workday. Take this time to stand up, stretch, walk around, and breathe deeply. Mentally download and lean into a past positive professional experience you had in your life. Remember, whatever you focus on grows bigger.