Fit for Life: Do You Experience Stress?
Matt Espeut, GoLocal Contributor
Fit for Life: Do You Experience Stress?
What a silly question.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
We all have stress in our lives, and every day, someone will throw a curve ball at you and knock you out of rhythm.
However, there are ways to deal with it that can make a difference.
One way I deal with outside stressors is to prepare for it by putting myself in tough situations purposely, so that when an unexpected issue arises, it feels less significant because you have built up a resiliency towards adversity.
A few examples of ways I make myself uncomfortable and prepare are:
I take cold showers daily. I workout outside on Tuesday, Friday & Sunday, regardless of the weather. (I really hate the cold and bitter weather, which makes it tougher to do). I have also put myself through tough terrain races and military-style programs to build resiliency.
Currently, I am doing the Mission Possible Challenge with my members, which challenges our discipline and will. The first week, we couldn’t hit snooze all week, which was easy for me however this week is a TV detox, and I am having a more difficult time with this, as I like to chill at the end of the day with some senseless t.v before bed.
Another way to reduce stress is to be prepared and anticipate the possibility of things going wrong before they do. When you are prepared, the likelihood of becoming overly stressed is minimized and sometimes avoided.
A while back, I listened to a podcast, and the basis was that your level of preparation usually equals your level of success. Think about that. When you are unprepared for something, our nerves and anxiety escalate.
Personally, I believe this holds true for me, and I am sure it does for you, too.
I am notorious for rushing to be on time. I hate being late, and I habitually put myself in stressful situations that cause me to panic and drive like a maniac to avoid being late. My goal this year is to change that.
Last week I had an appointment in Warwick at 1 pm. Now, in a perfect world, getting to Warwick from Providence is a 15-minute commute, but on a Friday, you never know what could happen.
I also had a scheduled phone call at 12 pm, a few emails I needed to respond to, and I had no idea where I was going, therefore I prepared for the worst case scenario.
In the past, I would have sat home, answered my emails, taken the call at noon, then left at 12:30 in a rush, driving like a maniac, and most likely pulling up to my appointment at 12:58. Still on time, but barely, and a frantic mess.
Instead, I left at 11:55 am, took the call on the commute, as I didn’t need to be seated and focused, arrived at the location at 12:15 and sat in my car and answered my emails for 30 minutes. No stress, and no panic anywhere in sight!!
That was an example of preparation for an appointment, but think about other instances such as being prepared for achieving your fitness goals. Let’s explore some ideas on how you can prepare to attack those goals.
It starts the night before. If you work out in the morning, then you need to be at work all day.
First, make sure your meals are prepared for the day. How stressed do you feel when you get hungry? The word hangry exists for a reason. You get shaky, miserable and irritable and every little thing stresses you out and sets you off.
Even worse than the stress is the bad decisions we make in this state of mind, then live with the regret after eating some fast food crap or snack we found within reach just to curb the feeling we are encountering.
Next, get your gym clothes and sneakers ready to go. Lay them out, then pack, and place near the door so you don’t wast time in the morning or leave and forget to bring them with you.
Lastly, get to bed on time so you wake well-rested and avoid hitting the snooze button in the morning.
When you wake at the desired time, you have the capacity to prep for the day. When you hit the snooze a few times, you start your day in a panicked rush, then the dominos keep falling in the wrong direction throughout the day.
You never catch up, and add unnecessary stress to your day.
Although I am still a work in progress with this tactic of preparing to avoid stress, I know that when we accomplish our mission over the course of the day, we feel more fulfilled and relaxed at days end.
Nothing is better than knowing you accomplished your tasks at work, had a great day of eating, got an amazing workout in, and kept your stress levels minimized.
The more days you stack, the more consistent you become, and you are more likely to succeed at the mission you set out to accomplish.
It all boils down to our level of preparation: As Abe Lincoln once said, “Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first 4 hours sharpening the axe.”
Coach Matt