The School of Greatness - 1062 Six Simple Practices for Relieving Stress

Episode Date: January 22, 2021

“You want to always be letting your ideas out of your mind and your feelings out of your heart so they don’t bundle up into stress.”On today's 5-minute Friday, Lewis guides you through six simple ways to relieve stress when it pops up in your life.For more go to: www.lewishowes.com/1062Mel Robbins: The “Secret” Mindset Habit to Building Confidence and Overcoming Scarcity: https://link.chtbl.com/970-podDr. Joe Dispenza on Healing the Body and Transforming the Mind: https://link.chtbl.com/826-podMaster Your Mind and Defy the Odds with David Goggins: https://link.chtbl.com/715-pod

This is 5-Minute Friday! It's not stress that kills us. It's our reaction to it. Hans Selye said that. And stress is something that every one of us has to deal with. It's natural to be stressed out from time to time. But it's unhealthy to be stressed out all the time. And as my friend Dr. Joe Dispenza says, when you're living by the hormones of stress, it's not a time to create. It's not a time stressed out all the time. And as my friend, Dr. Joe Dispenza says, when you're living by the hormones of stress,

it's not a time to create. It's not a time to open your heart. It's not a time to learn. So today I'm going to share with you six simple practices that I use to let go of stress and move into a state of calm and control. And you can use these six practices as well. And the first thing you want to do is write down your thoughts,

especially if you're alone and you're not around friends, you want to make sure you put it down on paper. When you keep all of your anxiety trapped in your mind, in your heart, it gets stressful fast. And you can let your thoughts and worries out by taking pen to a notebook and putting those thoughts on paper, really expressing your feelings through pen to paper and the act of journaling and sharing ideas with yourself is also a very calming exercise on its own that grounds you in the present moment so make sure to write down your thoughts number two breathe we don't pay attention to our breath all day so when breath gets fast and jittery and out of control, we get out of control also. And when that happens, we get even more stressed. Just as your shortness of breath can

get you into stress, it's also a powerful tool to take you out of stress. Try breathing from your belly. Try lengthening your exhale and paying attention to the rhythm of your breath. We've done this practice with many different experts and Dr. Andrew Huberman recommends this as well, neuroscientist, and even talks about the double inhale through the nose and then longer exhale and really letting that calm your body and your nervous system. So make sure you practice breathing and meditating as well. Number three is to talk with your friends. Again, it's just like writing your thoughts on paper. You want to always be letting your ideas out of your mind and your feelings out of your heart so they don't bundle up into stress. You don't have to hold on to that

all the time. It's not good for you. So call up a friend and talk about what's going on in your life. Share what you're struggling with or what's stressing you out. As we know, one of the best ways to get out of your head and stop overthinking is to just talk to someone else about what's on your mind. And the sense of community and connection on its own will bring you less stress and more happiness. Now, what I don't recommend is that you dump all of your anger and frustration and resentment on an intimate partner or someone close to you all the time. It's make sure to do this and share it with different people so not one person has to take the burden as well. Number four, keep away from sugar. And you're talking to a guy who loves to eat candy. This is

probably my only main vice that I have is sugar. And I love to have cookies and cakes and candy bars and everything in between. But when I'm feeling stressed and overwhelmed, I know that sugar will only make things worse. It seems to feel like it makes it feel better in the moment, but it doesn't in the long run. Eating sugar foods spikes your blood sugar, which is a recipe for anxiety and overwhelm. And when you're feeling stressed, you may be tempted to eat something in the sugar form for comfort. But I'm telling you, replace it with something healthier so that you're not necessarily resisting the temptation. You're just adding good foods first and less of the sugar. And that's something that I try to do is think of, okay, if I'm going to have some sugar,

let me at least have less and add other healthy foods first so I feel more full and obviously increasing my water intake or some type of green juice first. Number five, go outside and play. We have forgotten the art of play. As kids, that's all we used to do was go outside and play. But being on your phone and on your computer all day will stress you out and it pushes you towards feeling more anxious and depressed. So if you catch yourself feeling too stressed, get away from the screen, go outside and play.

I know this sounds like a simple concept, but sometimes we forget it grab a frisbee throw it around shoot some hoops go sledding Maybe try an activity you've never done before it doesn't matter what you do Just do something to get outside and play trust me when you take a break from doing whatever you're doing to play You'll feel so much happier and less stress than ever before. Try to spend five minutes today playing and you'll be amazed at the results right away. When we had Dr. Peter Attia on, he said that he schedules in mandatory playtime every single day. It's mandatory for him. Otherwise, he won't ever do it. So do this. It's important for your happiness. And number six is get some sleep. Many of us are losing sleep. We're stressed at night. We go to bed late. We're on

our phones, watching Netflix up till 2, 3 a.m. and then we feel exhausted the next day and anxious about tomorrow. We need quality sleep. We need quality and we need at least seven hours. I like to get eight hours of sleep. It's hard to get, I understand, but trying to get there every day, it's going to make you feel rested. It It's gonna make you have a clear mind. It's gonna allow you to become less stressed when you have the energy. So if it's a late night and you're not feeling great, just go to sleep early.

You'll be tempted to have another snack or watch another video or read another article online, but trust me, I've been there. Understand that you must get sleep as early as you can so you can start fresh tomorrow, especially if you're a high achiever and you're trying to do big things and you're performing at a high level.

And those are the six things you can do right now is to write down your thoughts, breathe, talk with your friends, stay away from sugar the best you can, go outside and play, and lastly, get some sleep. And there's obviously way more things you can do, but these are six principles

I think you could start with in a big way. And my hope is that you use these six principles as a toolbox that you can pick and choose from whenever you're feeling stressed, and you can go back to your best self. And let me tell you, relieving stress is one of the best ways you can keep your mind and body in great shape. It's not always going to be perfect. I'm not expecting you to be perfect. But once you break free from the cycle of consistent stress and fatigue, you'll never want to go back.

And I want to leave you with this quote from Wayne Dyer, who says, you cannot always control what goes on outside, but you can always control what goes on inside. I hope you enjoy this. And as always, you know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great.