Hi everyone,
I have traveled from my home base Boulder to Europe to start a speaking tour in Germany about my book How to Travel the World for Free.
It's exciting to travel around Germany and to speak in theatres about my travels. But it can also be stressful at times. I flew from Denver to Munich Tuesday night, had my first gig in Munich on Wednesday with a jet lag, then I had to drive 400 miles to Cologne on Thursday, gig number two on Friday in East Germany, pooooh...
I worked a lot on stress management to make my lifestyle as enjoyable as possible. Stress management is also a huge topic in my life coaching. Here are my five tips for a successful stress management.
1.Endurance sport reduces tension and stress, which is scientifically proven. Here a great summary Yesterday morning, I was in a hotel in northern Germany with a great gym, so I could do a 45 minutes workout with weights, followed by 45 minutes running. All the tensions of my travels have been gone right away.
2.Sleep: Sure, sleep reduces tensions. But I trained myself to be able to take small naps everywhere I am, in the airplane, waiting for somebody, just before a gig. These 30 minute power naps help a lot for additional relaxation. I think a lack of sleep is one of the main reasons for stress and a low level of comfort.
3.Be a Nerd: Basically we can avoid stress by planning and organizing our life well. During my travels, stress appears when I am too late at an appointment or when I mismanaged some parts of my schedule. The better I organize my travels, my job and my life, the less surprises and stress I have.
4.Meditation: This sound like Dalai Lama or golden temple in Bhutan. But it's not. I always meditate while running. Meditation is a simple concentration exercise, nothing more complicated. You focus on your breath or your steps while practicing to avoid additional thoughts. That's it, no huge spirituality. If you do that exercise on a regular base, your mind becomes really strong and handles stress so much more.
5.Independence: I have structured my life to be most independent. In the past, I have realized that stress often appears when I rely on too many other people. Sure, if the boss is mad, it causes stress. If others I rely on are not doing what promised, I experience stress, etc. So minimizing dependencies on others can improve the stress level a lot...
How do you manage stress? Please share and feel free to sign up for my coaching newsletter and get one of my books for free or follow me on facebook
Greetings. Meditation Michael