Episode 12

6 Ways to Stress-Proof Your Growth Machine

Hi, Everybody! Rick Lewis here with Episode 12 of The Follow Through Formula Podcast today. Today I want to talk about the physiological requirements, the resources we need to be able to follow through with something which is a big effort. If we're required to put a lot towards something new happening in our lives, we have to have the grounding physically to meet that demand.

I'm a really prime example of this right now with what I'm trying to do, this daily podcast and the course that I'm launching. There's so much to do and I've really been burning the midnight oil, up late, up early in the morning, not really enough sleep, a lot of time on the computer. I have a few basic practices that I've been regular with for years that really help me when I get in a place like this where I'm stretched. But even the last few days, I've been falling off the wagon a little bit with things that I know are essential.  

These are things that you've heard of many times. I am going to mention six specific areas of practice that are commonly known to help sustain a healthy body and mind, and which are even more relevant and crucial if you are making a big change. The first one is getting enough consistent sleep.

1.     Sleep

There's so much research now about the necessity of getting enough sleep. Sleep is as essential a need as food and water. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says that “Without sleep you can’t form or maintain the pathways in your brain that let you learn and create new memories, and it’s harder to concentrate and respond quickly.”[1]

But what do you do when you're stressed and anxious about your life? We could say that it's hard to sleep when you leap! What do you do when there's something you have to do that is a kind of leap, or you're challenging your own sense of identity and what you're capable of? The level of anxiety you're feeling about the leap can make it difficult for you to sleep. But sleep is really high up on the list of the things that are needed to curb anxiety?

That's where some of the other practices come in. We start with sleep. When we are regulated, the body will naturally sleep. During sleep all kinds of processes go on that keep us regulated. So, it’s a kind of circle. How do we regulate ourselves during the day while we are active so that at night we can sleep well?

All these practices that I am going to suggest go hand in hand. Each of these practices helps to regulate and balance the system, and together they increase that help exponentially, so that we have the kind of stamina and attention and presence and energy we need to pursue a life leap. Two of the other practices that especially help with sleep are exercise and meditation. 

2.     Meditation

Now, meditation is a big subject. If you type that word into your search bar, you're going to get millions of different results and all sorts of different forms and suggestions and ideas about what meditation is and how you should do it. In some respects, it probably doesn't matter so much what you pick, because most of what's out there is going to be some instruction on how to get a better relationship to the present moment.

The point of a meditation practice is to be in the present moment rather than let the mind just run away with future scenarios that it keeps posting to the bulletin board of your body.

The mind just keeps putting up notices on the bulletin board of the body saying, “Warning! Warning! Danger! Caution! Sharp Turn Ahead! Cliff! Look Out!” When these notices keep getting posted to the bulletin board of the body, the body enters into preparation mode, preparing for this big immediate effort to ensure survival. Thank goodness our bodies can do this! We can make super efforts because our bodies are designed to do so in moments when it is really needed. Our bodies inject large amounts of certain chemicals through our systems to quickly amp up energy, alertness, strength, and so on. But this heightened state is only meant to be temporary. Ordinarily we are supposed to be in a more relaxed, less amped-up state.  

Unhealthy stress occurs when the body keeps pumping these chemicals through our body for longer periods of time, when it becomes a chronic state.  

It's a physiological response to the mind's inability to stop sending warning messages about things that may or may not happen, triggering the body to engage the chemicals necessary to amp up for a huge super-effort for survival. The vast percentage of the time, these notices are about things that never will happen. There is a great quote attributed to Mark Twain, “I am an old man and I have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened.”

This is what the modern mind does—come up with troubles. It's the mind’s job to hop around from past to future to present looking for things that could go wrong in our environment, so that we can prevent them from happening. It's built into the survival of our human species.

But this is supposed to be balanced with and grounded in an even greater sense of body awareness that is completely present in the moment.

The modern mind is not well connected to our body awareness, so it gets too heavily emphasized, and gains disproportionate authority over our attention. It keeps sending the body these notices, causing it to be more and more tense and off kilter. Without returning to a relaxed state through sleep and other routines, that replenish our cells and nervous system, pretty soon we've actually done the reverse of being better prepared to deal with what's coming. We've undermined our actual health and stamina.

A mind management program of some kind is essential.

Meditation is a key practice for me. In times like this, when I'm really making a big leap and I'm feeling anxious about it and I'm in unfamiliar territory, I have to practice extra hard at managing my mind because it will keep sending me these messages, and I will notice my body going into alert mode. I can feel the chemistry of being hyper-alert, the tension, the physiological responses that would be appropriate if I was in a dangerous situation, but which are not really necessary or beneficial when I am not. I have to bring awareness and compassion to what is happening, so I can bring myself back to a relaxed state. Some form of meditative practice is a crucial factor in allowing our bodies and minds to return to a relaxed state.

There are many methods, and there is of lots of help and support out there. Find a way that you can practice staying in the present moment.  

I have a good deal of experience with meditation and I’ve added a basic meditation guide [CL1] on gamesforconfidence.com as well, if you need a quick place to start. 

3.     Exercise

Exercise is another category in which we find a huge amount of research that describes the multitude of ways that we can benefit our health—physiologically, mentally, and emotionally—from a daily practice. It is important to exercise each day, not just when you're stressed. Any form of vigorous movement of the body where you're getting your heart rate up is beneficial. For years it has been well known that exercise helps maintain physical health and wards off disease, but newer research has been focusing on the benefits of exercise for our mental health as well.

In March of 2018, Psychology Today published an article describing the mental health benefits of exercise. “Put simply: Exercise directly affects the brain. Regular exercise increases the volume of certain brain regions—in part through better blood supply that improves neuronal health by improving the delivery of oxygen and nutrients; and through an increase in neurotrophic factors and neurohormones that support neuron signaling, growth, and connections.” [2]

Exercise literally signals the body that everything is ok. It helps the body and mind to be in balance. And it helps the neurons to function properly so that we can think clearly and stay calm.

I’ve written an article [CL2] where I found some research indicating that strengthening your legs actually results in a higher level off confidence and self-esteem. There are innumerable angles from which exercise has been proven to be absolutely essential to health and stamina and stress reduction.

There are, of course, many ways you can get exercise. There are endless kinds of machines and devices out there you could have in your home. I actually have a stationary bike in my office and I have a natural bicycle, too. So sometimes I'll cycle outside with my son, sometimes on that stationary bike, but pretty much every day I ride for 40 minutes to an hour.

Even if you already have regular routines such as these, it's very tempting to just let them all go when you feel like you're in an emergency circumstance and you have to get something done immediately. “I'm going to skip exercise today. I'm going to sleep a little less. I'm not going to do my meditation practice because I don't have time.” But it’s highly counter-productive to let them go when you're considering a big leap of growth.  

4.     Good, clean, healthy food

This is a massive category, all on its own. I'm not a dietitian. I know what works for me. I know what kind of foods help me be clear and grounded and feel good. You probably know for yourself what works and doesn't work. If you're having trouble with your diet and you're not eating well, get some help. It's such an important element. The food you put in your body affects your chemistry and your body’s ability to regulate itself. If you want to make some kind of big change in your life, consider paying close attention to the food you eat, and how much and how often. But not everyone’s body works the same way. Find a routine with food that you can sustain, which is clean and healthy, and which is the right one for your needs.

5.     Water

The fifth very important practice is to drink enough water. Pure, plain water is the best, but you can include decaffeinated teas and other sources of nourishing liquid. There's debate about how much water is enough water. I just I keep a glass of water with me when I'm working during the day, I make sure I take water with me or have it handy when I'm exercising. Drink enough water. Water is very important.

6.     Sunlight

And practice number 6 is to get enough sunlight. If you're living in a place where the sun shines a good part of the time, get out and get that sun on your skin. Yes, too much sun exposure is dangerous, but it's also not optimal for your health to get too little sunlight. You must get out and let the sun shine on your body. I think they're now saying that just 15 minutes a day is a good amount to be letting your body eat that sunlight. Your skin absorbs sunlight, and your eyes do as well.

If you're in a place that gets very little sun you could actually get lightbulbs and lamps that produce a light range similar to natural sunlight. But even on a rainy day, there is sunlight in the atmosphere—get outside in it, for just fifteen minutes, look around at all the green (the sunlight captured in the leaves), and the light that is there even if it is muted.

If you're really struggling with clarity and energy, or if you are feeling overwhelmed by what you’ve taken on, take a look at these six areas of your life, and ask yourself if you can bring more attention to any of them. It could be that you're just not getting enough sunlight or water. It could be that you need more sleep or exercise. And it could be that you need to eat more regularly, or more or less of some particular food. These things seem so simple that their profound impact on how we feel can be invisible to us.

These are essential elements that form the basis of having enough stamina, health, energy, and attention to be able to make your life leap: rest, meditation, exercise, a good diet, and enough water and sunlight.

The primary area I let go of when I am busy is sleep. I tend to ignore sleep when I am getting a project or task done. When I get short on sleep, pretty soon everything starts to unravel. My clarity, my sense of positivity. I start looking at things in a really dire manner, and I dread things that I think might be challenging or difficult. When those attitudes start to show up, I look at those six areas of my life and almost always I realize that my sleep has become irregular. So, I bring myself back to it, and fill my cup back up. It makes a tremendous and immediate difference.

That's my help for today about follow through, some things for you to think about. Maybe there is a simple adjustment for you to make if one or more of those things are out of whack. This has been Episode 12 of The Follow Through Formula Podcast. I'm working my way all the way through 21 consecutive podcasts. Feeling good about that. Thanks for listening. Keep listening on. I appreciate that. Some of you are leaving reviews and ratings. That's wonderful! And I'll be back with you tomorrow. Take care and Game on!

[1] National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website, 11/17/2020, https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20a%20chronic,are%20now%20beginning%20to%20understand.

[2] Psychology Today website, 11/19/2020, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-works-and-why/201803/how-your-mental-health-reaps-the-benefits-exercise