BellaOnline Forums Career Business Owners What reduces your stress as a Business Woman?

Hello Ladies, I so appreciate you all sharing from your heart. After all, I kinda think this is what this Forum is meant to be about. We're here to encourage each other as Business Women while also giving each other business tips. I invite you all to create specific threads on topics we can really enjoy and help each other with.

I like the emphasis on living in the moment in your comments. Just today I realized that I have sometimes created stress for myself lately by pushing forward a little too fast without always enjoying the moment. Now I feel so much lighter as I'm focusing on "simply being me" while enjoying each and every step.

Here I thought I was doing that, but somehow I got distracted. Now I'm back on track and full of joy!

Tami,

I know what you mean. Pushing forward is like an ebb and flow kind of thing.

There are moments where you have to put your blinders on and just push yourself forward with all your might...while there are other more tender moments when all you really need is to give yourself a moment to breathe...and to think.

The real mark of making your business a reality is to recognize each moment as it comes...and to evaluate each moment on it's own merit.

As business owners we must recognize that success rarely happens as a result of one particular action...it happens as a result of a series of consecutive actions - each one building on the momentum exerted by the last.

Tami you've started a great thread here and have been very supportive. You are an asset.

Have you solved the website issue yet.

Shannon, it's funny you would ask about the website... I just posted the answer on the other thread. Thanks for thinking of me. I appreciate your presence on Bella as well.

Latarsha, it's good to have you here too. Your words make me think of how everything we do towards our business is an investment that keeps adding up. It's OK to stop to smell the roses for a few minutes because everything isn't hinging on that one moment. Every step forward is progress and all those steps add up! It also means that the payoffs to some of the investments we've made are still coming even when we take a few minutes to rejuvenate.

A few things actually:-
- Enjoying a glass of wine,
- Nice long bath,
- Patting my cats,
- Exercise - I've found I often can't sleep if I'm mentally exhausted - physically exhausted, I always sleep well.
- Yoga
- Time out - just sitting quietly enjoying my own company after a mad day at work.
- Cooking - I turn my brain off work and start chopping onions, mixing and stirring...heaven.

Tami,

I couldn't have said it better myself.

For me, it's about cumulative impact.

I can't lie awake at night bothered by a long list of to-dos because it's such a distraction.

Instead, I use my nighttime energy to congratulate myself on the small steps I made...and then top it off with laying out plans for the next small step.

And over time, I promise...all those small steps WILL add up.

In fact, it's a blast to watch how each small step adds to the big picture.

And then, each day I can go to bed with a smile on my face and satisfaction in my heart that I have used my life to make a definite difference in the lives of others.

Which is my bottom-line measure of success.

You sound exactly like me Deborah! I swear...I could have written that list word for word.

Exercise is a must. It makes an enormous difference for me. I've been pretty diligent about yoga for the last few months. It's addicting, and seems to take care of the exercise plus the deep breathing and meditation at the same time. It takes a little longer than, say, going for a run, but it's time well spent.

I find that doing my best at any given moment reduces my stress quite a bit. And by "Doing my Best," that doesn't mean pushing myself until I drop - that means being honest about what my best is at any given moment.

Somedays I'm a business rock star. Others, my best is just getting through the day without eating my weight in french fries. But as long as I've done my best for the given moment, the given day, I have nothing to beat myself up about or stress out over.

Aaaaahhh-hhh ! Finishing the last article for the last deadline before Christmas - now that's a real stress-buster and what Ive just achieved!

Funny how so many of us do exactly as deborah does! Me too!

I will now give myself a treat - browsing and choosing a website!

Way to go, Siobhain! I hope you can really enjoy Christmas even more now.

I find it fun looking at website possibilities for a website I'm planning too. Who did you end up going with for a website hosting company?