Live Stress Free With These Top Three Tips

Dear Stress. Let’s break up.

If you want to simplify your life by creating a stress-free lifestyle, and learn how to zone in on the areas that cause major stress in your life, then this blog post is for you! Nobody wants a stressful life. The only drama I willingly invite into my life is the drama brought to me by reality TV. (Thank you, 90-day fiancé.)

In other words, once the TV shuts off, I want positive karma, peaceful energy, and good vibes all around me.

For example, as a mother of three, our daily lives kicked up a notch from hectic into downright chaos once COVID-19 hit. I was working full time and found myself being thrown into distance learning as my children’s new bewildered, home-schooling teacher with zero warning.

It felt like everything I had worked so hard to achieve was slipping through my exhausted fingertips, for instance. My job was demanding, and I never seemed to have the energy to do anything I enjoyed anymore with my family.

Burned out, strained to my limit, and completely and utterly drained, I knew I needed to make a change–and I know I wasn’t the only mom re-evaluating life in that moment.

I was on a mission to simplify my life and create a more stress-free lifestyle by zoning in on areas that caused major stress in my life.

Read below for my top three tips on how to simplify three areas of stress in your life to live as stress-free as possible.

Tip #1: Re-Evaluate Your Work-Life Balance

Firstly, balance between work life and home life is crucial in having a stress-free lifestyle.

For example, a common saying is, “work to live, don’t live to work.” It’s an overused cliché for sure, but that’s because it’s true.

Pause and ask yourself if you are happy with your home and life balance. I know people who LOVE working and are happy being workaholics, working into the wee hours of morning or over the weekends. They love their jobs and feel fulfilled.

Conversely, I also know people who refuse to step foot in corporate America and are perfectly content doing their own thing at home. Their work might consist of being a homemaker and doing the vital job of raising a family.

In either situation, it’s important to feel your best.

I’m blessed with being able to balance both work life and home life over the years. As a Creative Director of my own business, I’m able to work from home (most of the time) while being at home with the kids.

I’ve had numerous jobs in-house, where I’ve had very understanding employers who have agreed to my flexible hours I’ve proposed.

This allows me to balance being a mom as well as being a professional and further growing in my career.

See what areas of your job you are happy with, and what you wish you could change.

Questions To Ask Yourself:

• Do you feel fulfilled with your daily duties?
• Is your salary where it needs to be to meet your lifestyle needs?
• Are you learning and challenging yourself every day?
• Is your environment positive and happy?
• Do you feel disconnected by those around you, or lost in your phone?
• Do you feel respected, listened to, and appreciated by your immediate family or peers?

If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, these can be potential areas of stress. How can we fix this? Simple. Look for solutions for your specific problem.

One of my best friend’s favorite saying is “Closed Mouths Don’t Get Fed.” What did she mean by this? Ask. Speak Up! Ask for a raise if you feel like you deserve one. Discuss your job duties and whether you need more–or less. Re-visit your work schedule with your employer to see if they are willing and able to accommodate any changes.

Establish boundaries and have the courage to speak up for yourself. If you’re not happy with your job, find a new one. Similarly, take a break if you can financially afford to do so. Get your priorities in order and work towards finding the balance you need.  

Make Sure Your Job Does Not Interfere With Your Home Life.

Set limits to make sure you have enough time to do the things you enjoy, such as:

• Personal hobbies
• Gym time
• Maintaining an active social life
• “Me” time
• Traveling
• Reading

When it comes to work and life balance, only you know what is right for your life. Find what makes you happy, and then strive to accomplish just that.

Tip #2: Prioritize Your Mental and Physical Health

Secondly, there’s no secret that stress can take a toll on us, both mentally and physically. By focusing on ourselves, we can make sure we are in the best shape of our lives.

Ever notice when you are traveling on a plane and they tell you to place your mask on first before assisting others? That’s because you cannot take care of someone else without taking care of yourself first!

I used to feel selfish for wanting alone time, or needing a break from my children. Re-learning the definition of self-love, I had to train my mind not to think of it as being selfish.

There are many ways you can create a stress-free environment to protect your physical and mental wellbeing.

Here Are Some Ways You Can Create a Stress-Free Environment

• Staying off of social media–or taking a mental break when needed
• Surrounding yourself by true, honest friends who uplift you and not bring you down
• Setting boundaries in your work life
• Protecting your energy from negative people
• Making yourself a cup of tea and reading a good book
• Taking a family vacation (or staycation to reconnect with your loved ones)
• Making healthy eating choices
• Exercising at least three times a week (I struggle with this one! The trick is to switch it up so you are always doing something new and exciting so your workouts never get too boring!)
• Self-care activities, (such as a spa date or a fun girl’s night out)

These are just some ideas for you to feel physically and mentally healthy. Most importantly, make sure you make it a priority to put yourself first.

Tip #3: Focus on the Good

Finally, my last tip to help you live a more stress-free life is to focus on the good. Have you heard of Murphy’s law? In case you’re not familiar, it states “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

If you always look for the bad in something, I guarantee you, you’ll find it. This world is beautifully flawed. I challenge you to change your perspective and see the good in everything. Because if you always look for the good in something, it is equally so that you will find there is good in everything also.

It can be difficult to see the good in things when it seems like nothing is going according to plan. When you and your significant other break up, or when the job you love lets you go suddenly. When a close relative dies tragically, or when an astronomical bill hits you unexpectedly.

What Helps Me See the Good in Things Is Asking a Series of Questions:

• What is God teaching me in this moment?
• Do I need to learn to have more love, empathy, or even patience?
• How can this testimony of faith impact others?
• Do I trust God to handle my life right now and have faith it is in his hands?

One of my favorite bible verses is Romans 8:28 that says “All things work together for good to them that love God.”

I have faith knowing that whatever I’m going through–no matter how painful it may seem at the time–is something that God will use for my good. Every heartache, every cruel life lesson has made me the person I am today.  

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not encouraging you to pretend to be happy. Toxic positivity isn’t helpful either. If you are feeling angry, sad, or stressed, you can absolutely cry it out, grieve, or even vent.

But here is the important part:

When you are done feeling your emotions, and you allow yourself to “feel ALL the feels”, it’s important to turn the page–however long that might take you. Once you are ready to move on, this is the place where you try to find the good. By focusing on the good, I believe you can find the peace needed to live a stress-free life.

By re-aligning my priorities and focusing on work-life balance, taking care of my mental and physical health, and most prominently, seeing the good in every situation, I’ve been able to lower my anxiety and stay on a path to a more stress-free, relaxed way of living.

What are some ways you de-stress or create peace in your life? Comment below, I’d love to hear them. Stay connected with Bearfruit Basics by following us on instagram and signing up for our newsletter!