Your boss is demanding, your colleagues competitive, the workload is overwhelming and the deadlines are unrealistic. Working in Silicon Valley can sometimes feel crazy. And what’s even worse, we seem to have developed a culture of stress, where being overburdened and living on the edge of burn-out is a badge of honor. Being calm and serene can look…
As you read this, you are probably stressed out. Read on and discover five unusual and fun ways to manage that stress. Right now, tonight, and tomorrow. 1. Touch The perfect antidote to high stress levels is touch. Touch can activate the relaxation response, the natural balance to the stress response. The human relaxation response centers…
Women lead very stressful lives. Multi-tasking, running between work and family duties, worrying about job security and relationship dynamics – all of these create a lot of extra stress. Self-care means performing little acts of caring for yourself before your stress mounts up and becomes overwhelming. Once an elevated stress response becomes established, you may…
“If you really want to make it big you’ve got to hustle.” That’s the theme of a recent article about Silicon Valley jobs. And like it or not, that’s the culture. Even if you are working a support job. Even if you have advanced, special skills. Nothing ever stands still in Silicon Valley. And you’ve got to give all you’ve got,…
During the holidays, we wish each other joy and peace. Often, loudly, and sometimes even in song. But many of us associate our holiday family gatherings with stress and anxiety. Holiday time with the family can feel overwhelming. We are forced to spend a lot of time in the company of people we may have…
When is a job well done? When are you satisfied with your own efforts? Are you tempted to answer the question with “never, if I’m honest” ? Then you may be a perfectionist. Being a perfectionist means that you always feel a need to do more and do better. It means that you attach a lot of importance…
Silicon Valley success takes years to achieve. You devote all your talents, your vision, your passion and too often also all your time to it. But your success may cause chaos in your personal life. Some of you may even ask yourselves – what personal life? The ugly truth is that Silicon Valley success is…
Self-care is a real buzz word. A quick google just now returned over 32 million results for a term that wasn’t even on the radar 10 years ago. Self-care is now recognized as a major tool to deal with daily stress and create a better life for ourselves and those around us. Self-care can prevent…
If you live a fast-paced life, there is a very fine line between positive stress and negative stress. Positive stress from working toward inspiring, achievable goals and entering into a state of ‘flow,’ can provide intense life enjoyment and produce many health benefits. Negative stress can cause you to feel overwhelmed, anxious, restless, and depleted…
Mindful awareness isn’t a religion, a system of beliefs, or even a philosophy. It’s a system of techniques that can be used for various purposes, including stress reduction and elimination of worry and anxiety. Mindful awareness is also useful in helping us develop heightened concentration and clearer thought. There’s no magic involved—sadly—but you don’t have…