If you are running a business or considering to start one as an entrepreneur, chances are you will deal with a lot of stressful situations on a daily basis. Being a full-fledged business person requires a lot of effort and energy—not to mention, the stress that practically becomes part of the job description. As a busy person, stress is inevitable, but you can learn how to deal with it in a healthy, and sustainable way. It’s also essential to find ways through which you can develop higher emotional intelligence to help you process your feelings, manage relationships, and deal with stressful situations. Here are some easy to follow tips that will help you better handle stress, whether at work, at home, or regarding your personal relationships with other people.
1. Feed your brain good information.
We are constantly inundated with information wherever we go, either consciously or unconsciously. The five senses—of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching—are perpetually picking up on a variety of messages and cues. These messages will not necessarily affect you in a positive way. You won’t always be surrounded by positive people in a positive environment and experience positive feelings and thoughts all the time. There are things you don’t the power to control and those you can control like how you use and process this information on the inside. Good news makes a good brain, so think of good news and positive information as food for your brain. Nowadays, we have all these people hopping on the “organic and healthy eating” trend, simply because we know for a fact that you need to eat well and make sensible choices when it comes to food to maintain a healthy and well-functioning body. But do we ever think about the “junk food” information that we are constantly feeding our brains without realizing it? So in the same manner, if you wanna live a happy, peaceful and harmonious life, you need to choose good information to feed your brain.
When it comes to your body: you are what you eat, and when it comes to your brain: you are what you accept. So you need to be very careful about the type of information you’re exposing your mind to. It could be via any channel, either social media or TV or even in real life, if you come across some bad information or negative energy, take a step back and ask yourself “is what I am watching helpful for me?”, “does the information I am taking in contribute anything to my personal growth, or to me becoming a better person?”. If the answer is no, then limit your exposure to it no matter how entertaining it may be. For example, advertisements and social media are filled with unrealistic images of people living lavish lifestyles and having perfect bodies. When we constantly expose our minds to these images and then start comparing our own lives to theirs, it could take a real blow to your own self-esteem and confidence. If it helps you grow, then great—accept more of it into your brain. However, if it decreases your self-confidence, then cut back and feed your brain information that grows you closer to the person you want to become.
2. Believe in yourself, not the haters
Feeling tense and frustrated is very common, especially if you are a busy person. But the only way you will ever be able to feel at peace is by filtering out the negativity. Just know that no matter what you do, there will always be someone to criticize and spread negative comments about you. You can’t change others or prevent them from sharing their thoughts. But what you can do is be selective in what information you choose to believe and agree with. It’s so easy for other people to call you ugly, to say that you’re not worthy or that you can’t succeed. It’s also so easy for you to give up and accept whatever bad thing they said about you and internalize it. But, remember that you always have the choice to agree with the negative things others say about you or to reject it.
When you get hurt by negative comments that others say about you, try taking a look inside and seeing if there’s something inside that’s upset because you actually believe them (even slightly) deep down and subconsciously agree with what they’re saying. We naturally have a tendency to doubt ourselves and give more value to other people’s opinions. Take back your power to accept only what fuels your growth and happiness by deflecting negativity. Plus, it could all be a test to see how much you’re really ready for the success and fame that you seek. Every successful and famous person has haters that try to take them down every single day—it’s part of the package that just comes with the lifestyle. Build the power to choose to believe in yourself more than any other person, because nobody can ever truly take you down without your conscious or unconscious permission.
3. Start your day with positive affirmations
The best practice for building the power of positive thinking is to say positive affirmations to yourself regularly. These include repeating out loud a simple phrase to yourself that counteracts a negative belief that you have about yourself. For example, if you’re feeling like you are not good enough, a positive affirmation to practice is the opposite of what you believe, which is “I AM good enough.” There have been countless research studies conducted around the implications of affirmations and their effect on people. The psychological analysis explains it very simply: when a person keeps repeating a certain message with conviction, the message is ‘drilled’ into their brain and is internalized. This allows your brain to act upon the nature of the message. In other words, if you keep repeating positive messages to yourself, in a way you are reprogramming your brain towards positive thinking. People who have been practicing affirmations for a long time say that positive thinking breaks down the mental obstacles that prevent you from getting what you want and can attract the things you want in life. The best time to practice positive affirmations is at the beginning of your day.
It sets your mind on a positive track for the rest of the day. If you can build a habit of filling up your mind with positive words that put off limiting beliefs about yourself. You will be able to start your day with much better intention and mindset than someone who just rolls out of bed and begins work. If you want to give this practice a chance, you could start by writing down phrases of things you want to embody like “I am worthy, I am beautiful, I deserve love….” It doesn’t have to be complicated ideas. In fact, the simpler you can make them, the better it is for your body and brain to embody them. You don’t have to repeat the affirmations in front of a mirror, you can do it anywhere, as long as you do it with conviction and an open mind.
Check out this short video for more tips on how to build positive
thinking:
About the Author: Linda is the Producer and Host of BRAIN EDUCATION TV on YouTube. A lifestyle and consciousness movement channel where you can learn more useful tips and watch videos on how to use your brain.
