Power Tool: Stress vs. Balance

A Coaching Power Tool Created by Denise Eckert
(Burnout Coach, CANADA)

Stress:

Stress can be accumulated from many aspects of life – work, family, environment, daily situations, etc. Stress can cause many issues – fatigue, health issues, frustration, lack of motivation, feeling drained, unsatisfied, etc.

Balance:

When we live in balance, we tend to feel content, happy, and energetic. Creating a balance between family, time for self, work, business, the school can be challenging at times but with the help of a coach, you can create what works for you.

Early in my career, I worked in a corporate setting organizing events. I was organizing events for 50-1000 attendees and I loved it. What I did not love, was that leading up to the event the workload increased and I found myself working 24/7. I was in my 30s and I just bulldozed ahead. I loved the challenge!

I was starting to feel tired all the time. I was living in a daze with a to-do list that I couldn’t do. I had a hard time sleeping and just could not relax. I could not shut my mind off from work. I was miserable and very short-tempered. My relationships began to deteriorate around me. Feeling tired, short-tempered, frustrated, always overwhelmed, and just plain miserable – I knew that something was wrong.

Soon I discovered that quitting my job wasn’t the solution. My next position was just as demanding and stressful. Unfortunately, burnout wasn’t a topic that people talked about. In those times – being busy + working around the clock + no time for fun/yourself = success! What is life if you cannot stop and love yourself?

Creating a balanced lifestyle usually requires us to take a look at our behavior, patterns, mindset, triggers, and blocks. Sometimes we tend to be people-pleasers and take on too much and in turn become stress, resentful, and frustrated.

Coaching Application

First, find out where you are at the moment:

What makes you feel stressed?
Where do you spend your time?
What is important to you that you ignore to do?
What do you do for self-care at the moment?

Personal Inventory

Get a clear picture of what is important to you. Creating a list of values and define your purpose is very important. Use the Wheel of Life to see where you are lacking – on a scale of 1 to 10, place a line where you stand in this area. Once this wheel of life is completed, you can see where you are.

After this wheel of life is completed, the following can be addressed:

What stands out for you? Areas you want to focus on?
What would be your ideal life?
What do you need more of / less at this time?
What is holding you back - lack of boundaries, people-pleasing, etc.?

Now that your inventory is done, creating an action plan to move forward:

What can you do today to create more balance in your life?
What can you do to make better use of your time?
What do you want to work on first?
What is holding you back or what do you think might hold you back?
What do you need in place to move forward - support, etc.?

Once you have an action plan in place that works for you, accountability is important at the stage. Setting up a support system that holds you accountable is priceless. We all go through bumps on the road which we need help maneuvering around. Support is key!