Stress-less Foundations

Hi, I'm Brooke, owner and founder of Living on Purpose. We want to help you stress less so you can bring your whole self to the people and projects you care about the most.

In today's video, we discuss some foundations for understanding stress. This includes understanding that the mind is not just in your brain, but it is a full body experience as well as a relational experience.

Window of Tolerance and FLOW:

We will also talk about the "Window of Tolerance." The window of tolerance is a tool we can use to understand our stress levels and personal capacity. Our goal is to stay anchored into the FLOW zone as much as possible. This is where we are in our "right mind." Its the place we are flexible, open, connected, and able to problem solve to our fullest potential. This is characterized by the 8 C's of Self.

Calm

Confident

Compassionate

Connected

Curious

Courageous

Clear

Creative

In this video, I walk you through an exercise to help you "tap in" to your flow zone.

Stress:

What gets in the way of us being in the FLOW zone? Stress! We have B-Stresses, the "bad" things that happen to us. But not all stress is bad stress. We also have C-Stresses, "constructive" choices we make. Examples of this include taking on a new job or starting a family. Then we have A-Stresses. They are the absence of things we really needed to thrive. Some examples of this may include lack of mentorship, cultivation, or feeling understood.

The window of tolerance is a measuring stick that can help us understand the capacity we have to carry life's load. The more stressors we have on our plate the easier it is to bump out of our FLOW zone.

So... How Do We Stress-Less?

Great Question! We have four umbrella strategies to help you stress-less.

1. The Right Internal Conditions:

   We can widen our window of tolerance (aka make our FLOW zone bigger) by optimizing our conditions. We do this through practicing mind-body connection exercises, getting great sleep, eating whole, nutrient-dense foods, and learning about sensory profile. This helps us understand how much sensory input or deprivation your nervous system needs to stay anchored into FLOW.

2. The Right External Conditions:

   The second strategy is to change our environment, minimizing the stressors we experience. Examples for this might be creating boundaries in a draining relationship, taking a long weekend from work, or downsizing your home to make it easier to manage.

3. Solve the A-Stressors in Your Life:

   Reminder- A-Stressors are the absence of things we really needed to thrive. They run in the background of our lives. This makes B and C Stressors more difficult. Why is this? Because A -stressors result in a life-skill deficit. A-stressors are also the cause of many things that might make us feel "triggered." Being triggered means we feel more vulnerability to threat than we have access to safety. I'll do a whole video on A-stressors in the future as this is just an introduction.

   
   

   For now, If you'd like to learn more about your A-Stressors and the skills that may have been lost along the way, you can take my free quiz "8 Skills to Stress-Less" linked below. I know this was a ton of information. I'd love to hear your thoughts, questions, or issues so I know what kind of videos to make next!