6 Simple Ways to Reduce Stress Daily
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Are you feeling overwhelmed by stress and anxiety? Do you find yourself struggling to maintain a sense of balance in your daily life? You're not alone.
Join us in this episode of the Embrace Your Real podcast as we explore practical strategies to help you alleviate stress and regain control over your well-being. Whether you're juggling work responsibilities, family obligations, or personal challenges, these simple yet effective techniques are designed to empower you on your journey toward greater peace and resilience. Tune in as we offer guidance and support to help you navigate through life's ups and downs with grace and tranquility.
What I discuss:
Take more walks.
Visualize.
Take action!
Maintain your healthy habits!!
Put your stress into perspective.
Pray!
If you loved this episode, be sure to tune in to…
Episode 432 - The Science of Chronic Stress and Weight Gain (Part 1)
Episode 434 - The Science of Chronic Stress and Weight Gain (Part 2)
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] Hey, hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace a real let's get it. Let's go. [00:00:29]
[00:00:29] Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode Six Simple Ways to Reduce a Stress Daily. Stress, stress, stress. This has been a hot topic on the podcast lately, and I think for good reason. I think most of us are not only experiencing more and more stress as time goes on, but this chronic stress alone is a terrible thing to handle and have just kind of hanging over our head daily. And the fact of the matter is, it impacts not only our mental state, but it also our ability to build the body that we want, which is so frustrating. And I know so many of us tuning in to the podcast and so many of you tuning into the podcast, myself included, we want to build the body that we want. And so that is why in today's episode, I kind of quickly want to share six simple ways to start reducing stress. So if you're in a state of stress, or maybe you're in a state of bliss right now, if that is you, amazing. I want to encourage you to bookmark this episode, because I do know that we are going to go through seasons of life, and sometimes we're just going to need a pep talk. And I think that's what today's episode will give you. [00:01:32][62.8]
[00:01:33] Before we dive in, I want to share this review that comes from Haley Kinzel. She gave a five star review and said, love, love, love I love you so much Julie. I'm thankful for you. I am so proud of your journey and your podcasts have helped me so much with much love. God bless you. I'm so grateful that these podcasts have helped you. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to send in this review, and even write the review. That really does mean the world to me. If you could scooch over to Apple Podcasts, you guys first make sure you subscribe so that you never miss an episode. We release episodes on Mondays and Thursdays, and if you are subscribed to the podcast, you will just automatically get it downloaded to your phone. So that way if you're traveling, whether you're going on road trips, you're going to be up in the plane or whatever that maybe doesn't have Wi-Fi or access to Wi-Fi, you will be able to tune into the podcast because they'll already be on your phone. So definitely make sure you do that. And then once you're on that page, you can scroll all the way down and leave a rating interview. [00:02:25][52.0]
[00:02:25] Okay, so let's dive into the six ways we can reduce our feelings of stress ASAP. Number one, take more walks. I have found personally that getting outside, getting fresh air, especially now that it's spring. Going into summer, it is darker later. Like Hallelujah, it is not dark at 7 p.m. anymore. Oh my goodness. I'm just so happy that it is lighter later, but just getting some fresh air and getting in some light movement. This can help reset my mindset when stress and anxiety are taking over. I have really just made it a rule personally to take, you know, at least 15 to 25 minutes, sometimes even longer really to start my day outside. It helps so much. So every single chance that I can when my schedule allows it. And typically I build my schedule around this, right. Like I have non-negotiables in my schedule, whether that is my morning walk that whether that's my journaling, my reading, the Bible, that's my workout, things like that. I plan those things and I plan my day around those things. I schedule those things kind of like appointments, and then I schedule everything else around them because I know that they're my non-negotiables. Right? And I know that when I get outside, first thing in the morning, when I get that vitamin D and I'm taking the boys out, I'm with Joshua. I'm spending some time phone free outside in the sunlight. [00:03:44][78.6]
[00:03:45] I can't express to you how powerful that can be just to reduce my morning stress. Like if I wake up and I have so many things on my to do list, and I have so many things that I need to get done, it is amazing. And walking, especially even at like a brisk pace, this can trigger the release of endorphins of serotonin in the brain, which you've likely often heard. These referred to as, you know, feel good chemicals because they elevate mood and promote relaxation. And there's actually science to back up that effectiveness. But I want to encourage you to give it a try before you write it off. Like if you can't get outside, a walking pad is so convenient. I have personally invested in a walking pad over this last six months and it has been so transformative. You guys like, they're not only super easy and convenient, they come with wheels so you can wheel it around the house. You can wheel it from room to room. If you tend to find yourself working on the computer, working on your phone a lot, or, watching TV, like just having a walking pad can be such a game changer. But overall, just trying to get in more walks, trying to get in more steps, that can be a super big game changer when it comes to alleviating those feelings of stress. [00:04:56][71.3]
[00:04:57] Number two visualize. So this is something that I talked about a lot on the podcast. But first thing in the morning, like especially when you first wake up, I just recently invested in a hatch. I heard about them forever, but I personally have been, person that is like, oh, I don't need an alarm clock and I don't need an alarm clock, I really don't I have, programed by myself to be able to wake up at a certain time when I want to, but I also know. That in this upcoming season of having a baby, that's just not going to be the case. And so I heard so much about the hatch. So I invested in the hatch. And I have to tell you, the sunrise in the morning on that thing is really cool. And you can program, you know, peaceful, just bird chirping music or just acoustics. It's really very, very, very appealing in the morning. But anyways, going back to visualizing it, sometimes when we wake up, like the feelings of stress and anxiety, that's the first thing that we're thinking about. And that's that's the energy that we're bringing in throughout the rest of our day. Whereas if we take even 1 to 2 minutes in the morning, like even 60s of before you actually your feet hit the ground getting out of bed, you get up in your bed so you get up, but you don't like get out of your bed, close your eyes, and I want you to just focus on positive scenarios that cultivate these feelings of peace and optimism. I really think that this vivid imagery can really activate parts of our brain similar to those, involved in actually experiencing calmness. [00:06:29][91.8]
[00:06:29] So if you have a busy schedule, I want you to take 60s. I want you to close your eyes, and I want you to visualize going through each of those things that you have on your to do list, whether it's meetings, whether it's situations that you know you're going to going to encounter. And I want you to say, okay, how do I want to show up in these situations? I want to show up with a sense of confidence. I want to show up with a sense of peace. And even if it's going to be a stressful day, you know that you might have some stressful conversations. I want you to visualize that. And all of this can be in under less than 60 to 90s, right? Visualizing how you're going to go through those scenarios. But it is such a powerful practice that can help transform the way in which you go throughout your day and and the energy that you have and the energy that you bring forth. [00:07:14][45.0]
[00:07:15] Number three, take action. Sometimes when we stress about things, we stress so much about it that we it takes up so much brainpower when in reality all we need to do is just get it done. And oftentimes I when I tell myself like, oh my gosh, I build it up so much in my mind. And then when I'm actually doing the thing or when I get done doing what I needed to do, I say, oh, that wasn't as bad as I thought, right? And so today I just want to encourage you to take the first step. And this could, if it's a large project and it's not going to get done in one day, that's okay. I'd rather you take the first step today than put it off and keep saying, oh, I'll start that tomorrow. Oh, I'll start that tomorrow. Right. And oftentimes, again, it's not as bad as you build it up to be. But the moment that you build it up so much in your brain, but you've had no action, there's no proof for yourself to go off of it. So all you're going to keep doing is being this vicious cycle of you saying, oh my gosh, this is so stressful. Without taking the measures and the steps forward to start to conquer that project or whatever it is that you are stressing about. [00:08:20][65.1]
[00:08:20] Number four, maintain your healthy habits. I know from experience that stress will tempt you to reach for comfort food. Skip your workouts. I want you to prioritize on nourishing your body with what it needs. Honoring your body with movement that is so crucial for combating stress. And just remember that the less you work out, the less you nourish your body, the more control your stress is going to have over you. Those are really two super underrated tools for combating stress. When you feel good, you're able to handle stressful things with a greater sense of ease. [00:08:48][27.4]
[00:08:48] Number five put your stress into perspective right. When you're feeling overwhelmed by stress, it's easy to get stuck into this negative thought loop that blows things out of proportion. And so it's important to ask yourself, like, are the things that you're actually stressing about? Are they actually even important? Sometimes they are. Most of the time they're not as important as we make them out to be. Right? Sometimes we work ourselves up about things that won't matter in a day, a week, a month, or a year. And so ask yourself, is this a temporary setback or permanent roadblock? Most stressors, those are temporary challenges, not permanent roadblocks. And so just remind yourself that this too shall pass. Zoom out. Look at the bigger picture. And just remember that it's easy to get tied up in our day to day lives, that we lose sight of what actually matters. [00:09:32][43.4]
[00:09:32] And last but not least, and most importantly, pray. Remember that God is always here for you. He wants to give you guidance. He wants to give you reassurance. He wants to give you peace. And remember to lean on him and let his peace that surpasses all understanding. Guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. That's one thing that I just constantly remind myself is I have to let go. And like God, I know that is such a cheesy Christian cliche saying that we've probably heard if you've grown up in the church, you've heard that so many times it's going to make you nauseous. But it's so true. God wants you to come to him in those moments. I don't want him to be a last resort. I want him to be a first response. And so just remembering that, like, all right, God, I choose for you to be my first response and not my last resort. And I want to come to you, and I want to lay these things at your feet, and I want your word, and I want your peace that surpasses all understanding. Anything to guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus as I walk throughout today. So just remember that he is always there. He's always ready and wanting you to come to him. [00:10:34][61.3]
[00:10:34] So there you have it. Six simple ways to reduce your stress. Let me quickly recap what we talked about in today's episode. Number one, Take More walks. Which leads me to making sure that I will link my walking pad from Amazon. I think it's like two 5300 bucks. I'm telling you, it is such a game changer. If you got a standing desk or one of those desks that can be standing and seated. If you are a person that works at your desk all day long or you're working on your phone a lot, such a game changer. Even you know around the house if you are watching Netflix, let's say, I mean, on average, people watch 2 to 3 episodes of a show every single night before they go to bed. If you spend 20 to 40 minutes on a walking pad, I mean, that's going to increase your steps so much and not only increase your steps, it's just going to help your mood overall. So I'll be sure to link that in the show notes below. But number one, take more walks. Number two, visualize. Number three, take action. Number four maintain your healthy habits. Number five put your stress into perspective. And last but not least, pray. Let God be your first response instead of your last resort. If you love today's bonus episode, I know you'll also love two bonus episodes that I recently released that I will be sure to link. Number one is The Science of Chronic Stress and Weight Gain (Part 1). And then it was also a Part 2 series. So I will link both of those in the show notes, as well as the walking pad that I use on a regular basis from Amazon. [00:11:57][82.9]
[00:11:58] I hope that this was helpful for you. Again, if you are in a season of life where it is just bliss, I am so grateful that that's your season of life, but just know that this episode might be there for you on in a season of life where you're stressed, so be sure to bookmark it and have it. If you are in a season of life where you've been very stressed, I hope that this gave you some peace. I hope that this gave you some clarity, maybe some ideas that you can implement. But that is all that I have for today's episode. I love you so much, I mean it, I'll talk to you in the next one. [00:12:25][27.1]
[00:12:25] All right, sister, that's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so. Julie A Ledbetter. Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace it real because you're worth it. [00:10:51][0.0]