Steady Ahead, or Stress Ahead on Shifting Ground?
Our brain is wired to predict what is coming next. A farmer keeps his eye on the weather and assesses what rain or sun will do for his crops. If he has no reliable source of weather information, can he really “go steady ahead?”
In like fashion, businesses need economic information that is both reliable and valid fact based. We may not recognize how stress ahead on shifting ground can creep into our consciousness and our actions. As human beings we are wired to be more reactive to negative signals, both in our consciousness or out of our awareness. When economic markets are volatile, when opinions are based on memes gone viral, when government policy see-saws without clear policy roots, that is the kind of shifting ground that creates stress ahead, not steady ahead.
No one likes to feel out of control, overwhelmed and worried about the future for themselves, their friends and their families. Although none of the suggestions listed below will significantly change what is out of our control, if done consistently and wholeheartedly, they will take the edge off our worry and our fear and thus keep us moving ahead, despite the shifting ground.
How to lower stress:
1. Breathe: Slowly breathe in to the count of four, hold your breath for a count of four and breathe out to the count of nine.
2. Shift to action: In a fit of worry or “stuckness,” think about something you like to do, imagine doing it and then go do it.
3. Reach: Remember, you are not the only one. Don’t isolate--call a friend, go to a coffee shop, go for a walk (if you have a cat, get a leash!)
