Do you ever feel anxious, sad, afraid, or overwhelmed with other negative emotions at work? The bad news is: these feeling can interfere with your ability to be creative and successful in your job. The good news is: you can take back your power and shift into more positive and productive states. This week's Love Your Work Weekly Blog offers you guidance on how to do this with "7 habits to reduce anxiety and other bad feelings at work." They are:
1. Meditate
Although it seems like you are doing nothing, research shows that sitting in silence has positive effects on your brain. Those who meditate report enhanced feelings of peacefulness and reduced anxiety levels. You don’t even have to be good at meditation to reduce anxiety and experience positive results. As Nike says, just do it! If you’re new to this practice or desire support to get back in the habit, check out guided meditations on the free Insight Timer app HERE.
2. Hydrate
My friend & wellness guru DJ Blatner advises that when you feel mentally out of balance, one the first questions to ask is: “am I dehydrated?” Your body is made up of about 60% water, and you lose water throughout the day. Being dehydrated causes stress on your body which can show up like mental anxiety. The standard recommendation is to drink half your body's weight in ounces - for me that is 60 ounces per day. Personally, I also found that I wasn’t attracted to drinking water until I switched to bottled water. As an extra boost, you can upgrade your glass of water by juicing veggies and fruits or with a squeeze of lemon.
3. Listen to high vibe music
You are made up of energy. You are a vibrating being. Music is sound vibration. So, putting on your headphones and pouring positive sound vibrations into your body can change the very makeup of your cells from negative to positive. These good vibes can help connect you to your deeper sense of inner truth when you are otherwise feeling down or fearful. Here is a song to help reduce anxiety and transcend any type of bad feelings by my friend, musical artist Jennifer Alexander, titled I Surrender I Receive:
4. Move your body
Your body is meant to be active. Yet, as a professional today, you may spend a lot of time stationary staring into your computer screen. Being sedentary can open the door to your darkest and most fearful thoughts which provoke worry and anxiety. Move your body to reduce anxiety and get rid of any type of bad juju! Get outside for a walk, go for a run, swim, jump on a trampoline, do yoga, rock a 4 minute tabata routine, or crank up some music and have a 5 minute dance party.
5. Read an inspirational book
To get your brain off of the fear grid and away from “stinkin thinkin,” you can proactively infuse your mind with positive brain food found in inspirational books. Get some ideas to reduce anxiety in my recent blog titled "7 Spiritual Books to Accelerate Career Success" HERE.
6. Renew with a salt bath
Sometimes you catch negative energy from others just like you catch a cold. Salt baths are a great way to clear away negative energy from your body. Epsom salts are available at any local pharmacy for about $7 a bag. You can also up your game with floating, which is a practice to immerse into 1,000 lbs of healing salts in a sensory deprivation tank. Check out my blog on floating HERE.
7. Be in nature
You may spend your days primarily indoors among concrete and tall buildings. You may live where it gets super cold in the winter and you don’t even want to go outside. Trees, flowers, bodies of water, animals, fresh air … these are all natural healers. Your body was intended to soak up these elements as a way to heal itself and replenish from the stress of life. Especially in the busy modern world, you cannot do without the benefits of nature. When you feel the need to reduce anxiety, here are a few mood-boosting ways to enjoy nature: soak up some sunshine, hug a tree, sit in the grass, breathe in the ocean air, and even indoors – surround your desk with nourishing plants. Check out this funny video reminding you of the importance of spending time in nature:
It’s easy to think you don’t have time for these types of activities when you feel busy and stressed out. And because that mindset gives you no support whatsoever, consider thinking the opposite. It’s quite logical actually, that when you incorporate one or several practices to reduce anxiety into your life, you set yourself up to win. Letting go of the negative feelings and bringing in the positive, ultimately, you do everything better.