Many, if not most, Americans are stressed out, overwhelmed, and overburdened these days. In fact, too many of them are feeling totally stressed out and exhausted. Going through the day feeling stressed has, in fact, become the "new normal." People have forgotten how to relax, even when they are supposed to be on vacation.
Related:6 Tips For Managing Job Search Stress
We are learning more and more every day about the health consequences of stress on human beings, both physically and psychologically, and research is constantly revealing new information about the effects of stress on the overall quality of our lives. New books are coming out almost daily pointing to the problems inherent in not getting our stress levels under control.
Most of us think of stress as bad—something we would like just to eliminate once and for all. A lot of the stressors that we experience are not the result of negative events, however. Getting married, having a baby, buying or selling a house… these are all stress creators, but they are the result of positive events.
Stress isn't necessarily good or bad. It's created by change. Furthermore, the stress we feel is more often the result of our perception of the change as opposed to the fact of the change. One person might not be stressed by the same event that would send another person completely over the edge. So, stress doesn't have to be "bad." In fact, new research points to the fact that stress by itself isn't as troublesome as our attitude about stress.
We do need to pay attention to how we respond to stress, however. A report from the American Institute of Stress indicates that 40% of American adults experience negative health effects that are the result of stress, and between 70%-95% of the visits made to our family doctors are the result of stress-related complaints.
As bad has this information may sound, there are practices that you can adopt as part of your daily lifestyle that will help you deal with stress more proactively and responsibly. There are, in fact, seven practical habits that you could start incorporating into your daily lifestyle that would help you become stronger and more resilient. They don't cost anything, and they are simple, if not necessarily easy, practices that you could begin right away if you were to decide to practice them as part of your own routine.
7 Strategies For Dealing With Stress More Effectively
The seven habits or practices, not necessarily in any order of importance because they are all important both individually and collectively, are as follows:
Pay attention to your breathing through the day. Developing a habit of breathing properly for optimum health and wellbeing.
Eat well by consuming whole, unprocessed foods that contain the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that your body needs for optimum health.
Sleep for 6 ½-8 hours each night.
Stay hydrated by drinking at least 64 ounces of water every day.
Exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes each day at least five days a week including both cardio and weight training into your routine.
Have fun and pursue a hobby that makes you feel good. (Even if it is just going to lunch with a friend or buying flowers for yourself. Do SOMETHING that makes you feel happy!)
Practice meditation or spend time in grateful prayer every morning for 10-20 minutes.
Please understand that incorporating these seven practices into your life daily will not eliminate your stress. If you have a difficult work situation, the difficulty is going to continue even if you are drinking the minimum recommended amount of water every day, and you are getting all the sleep you need. They will improve your overall resilience, however, so you can more proactively and effectively deal with the events that might otherwise throw you for a loop. Incorporating these lifestyle changes into your life will help you. You just need to give them a try to see for yourself.
This post was originally published on an earlier date.
Kitty Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT is a Certified Life Strategies and Stress Management Coach and is an ICC at CareerHMO. Visit her coaching page here.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CareerHMO coach. You can learn more about coach posts here.Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.