business strategy

How much is your stress costing you?

We all know stress is not good for us. That isn’t new information.  It effects our health, our relationship, our spirituality and pretty much everything in our life.  But did you know that stress is costing you money in your business?  And do you know why? 

1. Stress limits your vision.  Vision is what moves the company forward over the long haul.  Stress is consumed with what is happening right now.  8 out of 10 mornings, I wake up and feel stressed within 30 minutes.  Sometimes I feel stressed the moment I wake up.  Other days, it creeps in.  Either way, what is causing me stress is the huge mound of tasks that need to be done that day.  The tasks are always related to what is happening in my short term.  Schedules, clients, events, problems, emotions etc.  NONE of those things determine where I go a year from now.  Vision is what creates my future, and when stress creeps in, vision goes out.  Without spending time each day working towards your long term vision, you will miss the important things, in business and in life.

2. Stress creates a work pattern that can’t withstand the test of time.  I know some of you thrive on stress and pressure.  Right before the deadline is when you come alive.  Others of you completely shut down during stress and pressure.  The reason is that stress activates your amygdala in your brain and produces a fight or flight reflex.  Some of you fight, some of you flight away from stress.  Your body releases cortisol to increase your heart rate, and breathing.  It physically prepares you to run or fight.  For the flight people, stress is going to completely shut you down and you will immediately see why it is costing you money.  You hide from your Income Producing Activities.  For the fight people, you may love working with a deadline, but your body can’t maintain in.  It’s like trying to sprint through a marathon.  There is no way you can maintain that pace over the long haul.  When my clients start to stress, (and when I start to stress), I tell them (and me), “I am in business for the marathon, not the sprint.”  We don’t have to fix things all at once.  What you do today will not likely make or break your career.  But what you do over the course of time determines your level of success.  Just start and do something that will move you closer to the goal.  

3. Stress blinds you to the subtleties.  Sometimes it is picking up on the little cues that makes the big difference.  I believe we all have the ability to be a good people reader.  We can pick up on their cues, like tone of voice, and body language.  We can hear their pauses and their breathing.  However, when we are stressed, we don’t notice any of these things.  Sometimes we barely register the words they are saying.  And words are only 7% of the conversation.  93% of the conversation is non-verbal.  It is essential that we plug into those clues.

4. Stress decreases your passion.  Have you ever noticed how little you want to go into work when you are stressed about what is going on?  We dread it!  I am a very disciplined person and I still feel like I am hiking with a back pack full of rocks when I am stressed.  It’s sooo much harder than it needs to be. 

Knowing how stress makes you less effective in your business, I want you to ask yourself a question, and write down whatever comes to mind.  

“How much is my stress costing me?” 

I teach all of my clients to take time each day to get mentally, physically and spiritually connected.  The biggest reason they don’t follow through is because they don’t feel like they have time.  I promise, you do not have time NOT TO!  Would you rather take 15 minutes to get rid of stress or spend the entire day running on empty?  The results are always better when you decrease your stress level! For more details: http://amywalkerconsulting.com/