Managing Stress

Stress is part of life. Some stress is even good for you; it motivates action, sharpens focus, and helps you perform under pressure. The problem isn't stress itself but chronic, unmanaged stress that never lets up. When your nervous system stays activated too long, when you never get to rest and recover, stress stops helping and starts harming.

Managing stress isn't about avoiding it. It's about building capacity to handle it and rhythms that allow recovery.

Sources of Stress

• Work: Deadlines, demands, difficult relationships
• Relationships: Conflict, disconnection, responsibility
• Finances: Uncertainty, debt, pressure to provide
• Health: Your own or those you love
• Internal: Self-imposed pressure, perfectionism, fear

The goal isn't to live stress-free. That's neither possible nor desirable. The goal is to manage your load, recover effectively, and build resilience so stress doesn't break you down over time.

Practical Stress Management

Identify your stressors: Name what's actually causing the pressure.

Control what you can: Focus energy on what's within your power.

Protect recovery: Sleep, rest, and margin aren't luxuries.

Move your body: Physical activity processes stress hormones.

Talk about it: Isolation magnifies stress; connection reduces it.

Simplify: Sometimes the answer is less, not more coping strategies.

Your Action Steps

This week: Identify your top 3 stressors right now.

This month: Address one stressor directly or build one recovery rhythm.

This quarter: Evaluate your overall stress load and make one significant change.