What are the best healthy ways to cope with stress as an Entrepreneur? Stress is one thing you should look out for in your everyday pursuit of success.

It creeps up on you and when not careful, can hinder you from achieving your goals.

Like a machine, your body needs constant maintenance to be in good working condition.

Without it, there’s a high chance of breaking down. Stress in itself is not a bad thing. It is simply a distress call from your body saying, “I am overwhelmed.” It becomes bad when you ignore that call.

11 ways to Cope and deal with stress 

1) Create time to Unwind

You expend a lot of physical and mental energy during the day. Without having time to rest your mind and body, you are bound to burn out.

One good way of relieving stress is by engaging in leisure activities. They are called ‘leisure’ because unlike work, they don’t expend energy instead, make us feel rejuvenated.”

Remember, ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ You can decide to work during the weekdays and rest on weekends. Or you can decide to take a full day off every week to unwind. Whichever.

The most important thing is that you have a time where you are free from the burden of work and life.

2) Schedule breaks in between tasks

Apart from creating time to unwind, short breaks in between tasks can help your body prepare better for the next task. You can decide to take a walk, listen to music, chat with a friend, e.t.c.

Why its important to schedule breaks to handle stress? 

Take breaks to find solutions to your problems instead of making rash decisions you’ll end up regretting. The most regretful decisions were actually preventable if you had just paused a while.

A proactive process could be starting your day with a form of relaxation technique including prayers, meditation or breathing exercise.

It’s also by pausing we can find clarity – when there is a lack of clarity about what you & your team stands for including your goals and roles; you waste time and energy on the trivial many and experience confusion, stress and frustration.

When there is a high level of clarity, on the other hand; people thrive.

3) Take Breaks from News and Social Media

If you are observant, you’ll notice that spending a lot of time on the news or social media adds to the stress. Yes, it’s good to be current.

But too much of everything isn’t good. The bad news you hear, and the pressure from the ‘fake’ and ‘exaggerated’ life people portrayed on social media are a source of stress.

It is healthy if you take breaks from them.

4) Eat healthy to handle stress better

If your health is a priority to you – junk food is not the way to go.

Eat good food, drink a lot of water and take some fruits.

Healthy eating cannot be overemphasized. Like a machine, if you don’t feed the body with a balanced diet, it will break down when you ride it hard.

My Friend, Coach Jake Sharp hits the nail on the head with an important post about prioritizing our health and nutrition:

Entrepreneurs or high achievers will continue to preach discipline and success in all areas

They confront their problems like their systems, sales, and culture in business or work

But they constantly neglect their health and avoid becoming the best version of themselves

They never fully commit to their nutrition or fitness.

They make excuses and say they don’t have time, or it’s not the right time, or the best is I don’t need to be lean to be healthy!

The truth is…

When you think and envision your dream body is it really a chubby and unhealthy body?

Your health affects how you feel and work and that directly affects your results.

So you high achievers!! Work on prioritizing your health!!

You will live a more fulfilling life!!

How to boost Testosterone to handle stress better?  

Eat real foods, increase your physical activity & decrease unnecessary stress.

Watch your energy, testosterone and sleep go up.

You don’t want to eat a bowl of cereals for breakfast & then go for donuts at lunch while washing it down with a coke and wonder why you’re feeling low energy all day.

5) Get Adequate Sleep

Research has shown that those who sleep longer at night are more alert and productive during the day.

I know that success stories of people with sleepless nights are the trend. But come to think of it, those same people would have more productive days if they started it refreshed and well-rested. Compared to when they started were worn out and sleep-deprived.

Those success stories teach sacrifice. I’m sure they’re a lot better things you can sacrifice than sleep.

6) Exercise regularly

Another way to relieve stress is by exercising. During exercise, the body releases endorphins, a hormone that helps fight stress and keep you healthy.

How does Exercise help you cope with stress? 

Exercising on a daily basis keeps you fit and also helps you cope with stress as it is a sort of mind training.

You have to push your mind beyond its limits. Most times, it’s not the body it’s the mind that always hold us back.

So why not engage in any form of cardio or strength training to gain endurance and build strength respectively.

You can overcome a good amount of stress with physical activity such as long walks, walking in nature, running and lifting.

7) Have a power nap 

A protocol as simple as 20 minute power naps really clears the head. Hack your naps and optimize your work and creativity. Stressed out and exhausted, too much to do – just take a nap.

8) Meditation

Meditation is a practice that helps calm your mind, gives you balance, and improves your mental and emotional wellbeing.

It has been practiced for thousands of years with tremendous results for thousands of people.

You can do the basic one of sitting still for a short period, say five minutes, and taking note of your breathing pattern. It calms your wandering mind and helps you appreciate the present.

9) Talk to Others

Talking to people about your source of stress helps relieve that stress. Not only does it help you get it off your chest, but you can also get advice from others on how to deal with that situation.

Choose the right person (Safe people), but let them know that you are stressed.

How to ask others for help to deal with stress? 

You could find a Virtual assistant, employ a lower staff to handle some tasks and brainstorm with others. When you feel overwhelmed the most, it might be time to direct someone else to take the responsibility.

Building a network and investing in genuine friendships is a good way to be proactive about it so you can seek out help when stressed out.

10) Develop a positive mindset

Worrying about what could go wrong every time would cause you stress. Negative thinking and attitude is a rot that weakens your mind and body.

The cure is having a positive mindset. Yes, things will go wrong. But why focus on them when you can focus on the things that go right?

Positive proclamation, positive thinking, positive attitude are great weapons in fighting the negative effects of stress.

11) Breathing exercises 

One of the most important thing we stop doing when stressed out is breathing properly. Instead of breathing deeply through our bellies we breathe shallowly through our chest.

When you’re feeling stressed breathe deeply for 3 – 5 minutes. This takes you out of fight or flight & helps you feel calmer in the moment.

So find time to take deep breaths daily by including breathing in your morning routine or during breaks.

In summary

Working from day to day comes with a build-up of stress. Events in our lives that are traumatic also contribute.

Dealing with stress before it causes more harm to us is imperative for productivity at work and happiness in general.