Reduce Your Stress In Only Two Minutes
“Breath is the power behind all things….
I breathe in and know that good things will happen.”
—Tao Porchon-Lynch
Using intriguing anecdotes and a short listicle, Greg McKeown in the Harvard Business Review gives us the secret to better managing stress in only two minutes per day. So what's the secret? He says it's these five things.
Breathe
While it's a good way to slow down and be more cognizant of the world around you, recent research done at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital proves the positive impact deep breathing has on your body’s ability to deal with stress. When you feel overwhelmed, you'd be surprised at what taking a pause and a few deep breaths can do.
Meditate
We know, we preach about meditating a lot, and while it's a relaxing hobby that some of the most prominent names in Hollywood practice, the science speaks for itself: "meditating for as little as 8 weeks can actually increase the grey matter in the parts of the brain responsible for emotional regulation and learning." Have we convinced you yet?
Listen
Don't just listen for a response, listen whole heartedly and listen without reserve. Listen both when you agree and disagree. Listen not just for yourself, but to give your full attention when interacting with others. Begin by listening, and all of your interactions will be enriched.
Question Everything
We ask questions to those around us all of the time, but how often do we practice questioning ourselves? Getting into the habit of questioning our thoughts, our reactions and our motives is the gateway into understanding ourselves better. By acknowledging our thoughts instead of repressing them, it allows is to go beyond limits that we think we have, when they may be entirely constructed by ourselves.
Purpose
To do things with purpose is to do them without distraction and with our whole selves. When we try to multitask, even during the simplest of tasks, we stop doing what we're doing with purpose which increases stress and lowers productivity. "Giving each activity your undivided attention ensures you’re in the moment and fully living that experience."
With these five small habits, you can be well on your way to reducing stress daily. To read the full article and anecdotes to each of these tips, click the link below.