Have you been emotionally and physically overwhelmed from overworking, overcommitting, or constantly worried how you will get everything done before the end of the year? You are not alone!

Last month, we brought our expertise with transformational coaching and wellness to Chamber members, collaborating on a Young Professional Network Committee (YPN) workshop introducing easy tips on how to empower the mind and body during this challenging time. This workshop created action plans implementing easy solutions to be more present, time efficient, peaceful, and calm from a mental and physical perspective. Our goal was to help you breeze through this holiday season. This is a reality everyone can learn to achieve.

At any given moment, how we feel and think influences us on how we perceive our world. Therefore, it is crucial to bring self-awareness when we are triggered into our stressed state because most of us can fall into a spiral with tunnel vision.  To help you snap out of it, here are some mental and physical techniques we hope you can incorporate.

First, recognize and accept that you are being triggered. If you find this challenging, we recommend to check-in with yourself throughout the day; when you wake up, mid-afternoon, before you leave work, and when going to bed. From there, walk yourself through these two different mindsets by asking yourself if you are you feeling the warm, growth-oriented, inspiring and expansive mindset, or the cold, heavy and contracting mindset that is limiting us from seeing possibilities? When we are triggered by stress, the latter comes into play, and thoughts and feelings associated with self-doubt, lack of confidence, worry, anger, and frustration may come up. To reset, breathe deeply and follow your thoughts on how you are communicating with yourself. What emotions are coming up for you?  Kindly accept and acknowledge all that are coming up. Surprisingly, this alone can help you become more aware on how you think and feel, enabling you to execute with a bit more clarity on how to have a better day.

Next, we focused on self-care with an emphasis on scheduling yourself first.  We gave the analogy of “Putting Your Own Oxygen Mask On First”.  By scheduling ourselves first, we are in a more balanced and peaceful state to make focused and satisfying decisions – and reactions to stress.

We all know we need to exercise and rest.  Sedentary lives with stress and burnout are increasing in our society.  Bringing oxygen to our bodies through exercise and stretching daily we keep our body in a more productive condition to sustain through the day.  In order for us to repair, recover, and ultimately perform at our peak, we must rest our bodies and minds.

Nutrition is a large part of wellness.  Some people put premium gas in their custom detailed, luxury cars, but eat processed and fast foods.  Looking at healthy replacements for filler foods, increasing water consumption, portion size, and logging what we ate and how we felt while we were eating it are all great ways to bring awareness.  Prepping and planning grocery shopping, easy go-to meal items, and stocking home and work with healthy options can bring a steady state to your body.

Lastly, after this workshop, financial health was asked be added to the wellness picture.  We are happy to announce we will be adding this essential topic to our future YPN series at the Chamber next year called 2020 Vision: Health, Wealth & Happiness.  Be sure to check the calendar for upcoming dates and bring a friend!

Try to implement a few changes from this blog daily to better manage your holiday stress.  Awareness is the first step and each step from there is another success!  Cheers to breezing into a Happy New Year in 2020!  You can do this!

Aska Naito is Founder of ASKA NAITO Coaching & Consulting | Anna Stavaridis is Founder, CEO, and Wellness Expert of Meraki Fitness, LLC.