How To Achieve More and Stress Less

I commented on an influencer’s post on Instagram. Here is my comment: 

“Happy people are generous—not only about giving money but also about giving the attention to those who need it.” 

Another follower of this influencer left a comment underneath mine: 

“Happy people are those who sleep less and hustle.” 

I was perplexed.

I thought … huh…really? Are you being sarcastic about my comment or are you embracing a “hustling-till-you-die” mentality?

It’s a sad comment. I sincerely hope he’s just sarcastic about my comment!

Hustle, in the dictionary, means “force [someone) to move hurriedly or unceremoniously in a specified direction.” 

• Are you hustling every day? 
• Are you in a survival mode EVERY SINGLE DAY?
• What are you hustling for? 
• For survival? 
• Are you hustling out of fears?
• What are your fears? 
• Do you have a love-hate relationship with your fears? 
• You hate your fears, but deep down you think your fears are powerful forces to propel you forward. You give in to your fears. Sometimes you live with your fears “peacefully,” but more often, you live with your fears “fearfully.”  
• Do you feel you’re running on the hamster wheel all the time? 
• Do you have the mentality of “hustling more and sleeping less”? 

Do you know? 

Neuroscience research shows that lack of sleep impairs good thinking.

Do you allow stress and anxiety to run your life? You are not alone!

Take a look at the statistics:

• 72 percent of people who have daily stress and anxiety say it interferes with their lives at least moderately.
• 40 percent experience persistent stress or excessive anxiety in their daily lives.
• 30 percent with daily stress have taken prescription medication to manage stress, nervousness, emotional problems or lack of sleep.
• 28 percent have had an anxiety or panic attack.

In the workplace, stress and anxiety most often impacts their …

• workplace performance (56 percent)
• relationship with co-workers and peers (51 percent)
• quality of work (50 percent)
• relationships with superiors (43 percent) 

The main culprits of work-related stress:

• deadlines (55 percent)
• interpersonal relationships (53 percent)
• staff management (50 percent)
• dealing with issues/problems that arise (49 percent)

[Source: Anxiety and depression association of America.] 

Do you want to continue living a high-stress lifestyle? 

You probably think you have to choose between happiness and success. 

And you also think—in order to achieve your success, you have to live a high-stress life. 

You decide to choose success over happiness. 

Because you think, when you achieve the success you want, you’ll be happier. 

But…

Shawn Achor, a teaching professor of the happiness course at Harvard University, showed that “Happiness breeds success, not the other way around.” 

Here is the good news —

He also published a research on The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology which provided evidence that changing one's mindset about stress could alter the physical effects of stress. 

That means you don’t have to live a high-stress life to achieve the success you want. And you don’t even need to choose between happiness and success. 

Now, let’s dig deeper into the effects of stress. 

Stress can motivate you to achieve peak performance. And it also can damage your health. Neuroscientist, Dr. Caroline Leaf, points out that there are three levels of stress. Level I stress is good and necessary—it helps us stay focused and perform in high level. However, when your stress level progresses to level III, that’ll become toxic stress. Toxic stress will damage your health! Don’t let your good stress turn into toxic stress. Take control of your life. 

How to manage your stress? 

You need to examine your thoughts mindfully. 

“What you wire into your brain through thinking is stored in your subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is where 99.9 percent of our mind activity is. It is the root level that stores the thoughts with the emotions and perceptions, and it impacts the conscious mind and what we say and do. Everything is first a thought.” [Source: Dr. Caroline Leaf, Switch On Your Brain]

What does success look like to you? 

• Are you successful when your family relationship is broken due to your unmanaged stress? 
• Are you successful when you lose your health due to your chronic toxic stress? 

I hear you say, “You’re idealistic. You know I have no choice. I just have no choice. I have to hustle.” I understand how you feel because I was there before. Years ago, I thought I had no choice too. 

We hustle because we want to be in control. But the sad fact is that—the more you want to be in control, the more you lose control. 

The belief “I have no choice” will drive you crazy. 

You’ll be increasingly unhappy, stressed, and dissatisfied if you don’t abandon the belief “I have no choice.” 

To take control of your life, you need to take control of your thinking.

When you stop looking at your problems and start visualizing possibilities, all of a sudden, options show up. Opportunities will come knocking at your door. Trust me. I was there before, and that’s what happened to me. 

[NOTE: Neuroscience research shows that visualization changes our brain activity.] 

The solutions are between your ears. Are you willing to listen? 

The options are always there. 

If they are not there, you can choose to create new options. 

How to create options? 

1. You need to let go of your toxic beliefs. And you need to let of your desire to be in control, all the time. My new bestselling book, “Train For Joy! Break the Five Toxic Beliefs that Hold You Back From Success” will guide you to the path of flourishing.
2. You need to ask for help and receive help.  It’s just that simple.
3. Get mentors. Get coaches. Gain clarity on what you want, why you want it. Then you will be able to achieve what you want, yet with less stress. Get my FREE Stress Detox Strategy Session. 
4. Take breaks. Rest. Get some sleep. Check out my blog post: 3 Proven Ways to Boost Your Productivity and Happiness.
5. Spend time with your family. Do fun things. Reconnect with the people who want to add value to your life. Happy people get the right things done. Happy people add value to others.
6. Practice gratitude. Recall the things you’re grateful for. Journal daily. Write 1-3 things that you are thankful for. Focus on what’s right but not what’s wrong. You will not only be happier, but you’ll also be more productive. Check out my blog post: 5 Keys To Happiness.
7. Generous people are happy people. How generous are you spending time with yourself and your loved ones? How generous are you spending your money on good causes? Are you prioritizing relationships, meaning, and joy?

Today, hustle less, sleep more.

To your happiness and success,

Corinna Kong

Get my bestselling book, Train For Joy

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