The Stress In Knowing…

How stressed out are you right now?

It’s not a rhetorical question.

I’d like you to think about everything you have going on in your life at this moment:

-The stress of kids getting ready for (or just starting) school

-Work related stress

-Relationship stress

-The stress of illness or injury

-Financial stress

-Stress from lack of sleep

-Stress from how you nourish yourself

-Stress from how and if you move your body enough

-Stress from not having enough time in the day to do it all

Take stock, take inventory and re-assess the question.

How stressed out are you right now?

Stress is a quantitative marker I use with my online clients (and often with face-to-face clients) to understand how and why life might be getting in the way of their goals.

It’s also a question I ask when I’m in consultation with potential clients. I want to understand how they measure stress at that particular moment and what contributes to that stress.

It’s helpful to remind people that dieting can be a stressor. Exercise can also be a stressor. Some of that stress is good and necessary and “part of the process” and some of that stress can be taken too far.

For instance, if I have a client who says they’re currently under a lot of stress, that might not be the best time to focus on a dieting process. It really depends on the person.

Throughout my years of coaching, I’ve seen clients under a particular type of stress have very different outcomes from the same type of traumatic event. Case in point: divorce.

Client A was in the middle of a messy divorce and was strapped with their finances. This, in turn, affected how many groceries they could buy and, as a result, they lost desired weight simply because they couldn’t eat what they couldn’t afford to buy.

Client B was also in the middle of a messy divorce, finances were not affected in the short term and food became the coping mechanism for handling the event. As a result, weight increased until there was some clarity over how the future would change.

I think it’s impossible to look at how someone can improve their health by any measure, without also considering how stress plays a factor.

They will always be intricately intertwined.

Having some stress management techniques can be helpful but, bear in mind that not every tool will work for every person with the same degree of effectiveness.

Think about:

-Going for a walk/hike

-Reading a book

-Taking a bubble bath/hot shower

-Doing some form of restorative exercise: yoga, stretching, foam rolling, tai chi, etc.

-Getting a pedicure/manicure

-Listening to/playing music

-Talking to a friend

-Writing/journaling

I’ve found that the clients who are most successful at reaching their goals aren’t the ones who have the least amount of stress, rather they are the ones who are the most accepting of a certain level of unavoidable stress, who have some go-to stress management tools and have a more flexible mindset to the reality that always and without question: shit is going to hit the fan.

And once it does, how do they get through?

So, don’t expect a stress-free life.

Don’t wait until your life is stress-free to start shooting for your goals.

Find a way to navigate stress so that when times are more challenging, you have the ability to pivot, pause, reflect and realign priorities where necessary.

(Photo courtesy of Nik Shuliahin)