Mindful in 5 Podcast

Stress to Strategy

• Spiwe Jefferson • Season 5 • Episode 165

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Feeling overwhelmed? Five minutes a day is all you need to reset your mind and stop overthinking. This episode explores how simple mindfulness techniques can transform stress into a strategic advantage. Whether you’re juggling multiple deadlines or navigating difficult conversations, these stress management strategies will help you understand your body's response to stress, clear mental clutter, and handle workplace chaos with clarity. Tune in now to learn how to regain control, sharpen your focus, and stay confident in any situation!

Transform career setbacks into powerful comebacks with mindful strategies and AI tools that helped me land executive roles as shared in my upcoming book, 'Phoenix Rising - Ignite Your Job Search.' Secure your spot in our exclusive Early Bird community for pre-launch access and an intimate launch event by pre-ordering through the Phoenix Career Chronicles podcast show notes or at spiwejefferson.com today.



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Spiwe Jefferson:

Welcome to Mindful in 5, where busy professionals find your peaceful oasis to thrive in complex work environments. I am Spiwe Jefferson, attorney, certified mindfulness practitioner and author of the Mindful in 5 book series, here to guide you to a clearer, softer and more supported life. Join me and your fellow mindful ninjas as we explore science-backed mindfulness strategies for successful leaders that you can implement, starting with just five minutes a day. Elevate your work, empower your life, work higher, live stronger. Let's go Okay. So before we begin, I want to celebrate something. Do you know what today is? Do you know what today is? This is the 165th episode of Mindful in 5. I am filled with deep gratitude and joy as I share some beautiful milestones with our amazing Mindful Ninja community. That's all of y'all. Your presence and support have helped us soar beyond 5,000 downloads, illuminating the path for others seeking mindful transformation in their daily lives. My heart is especially full knowing that Mindful in 5 has been recognized by FeetSpot as one of the top 25 best mindfulness meditation podcasts, an honor that reflects the collective energy and dedication of you, our growing family of mindful ninjas, of you, our growing family of mindful ninjas. Every time you tune in, share an episode or send a message about how these practices have touched your life. You help to create ripples of peace and presence that extend far beyond this podcast. Thank you, dear mindful ninjas, for being part of this transformative journey of awareness and growth.

Spiwe Jefferson:

Okay, let's get into our episode. Have you ever tried making a presentation or leading a discussion at work while mentally drafting your resignation letter? Have you ever felt like your mind is a browser with a hundred tabs open? Today we're hacking neuroscience to declutter your brain and turn stress to strategy. Starting with just five minutes, meet Akar, egyptian-american vice president of sales, drowning in Sunderland Medical's corporate chaos. Like many of us, he initially dismissed meditation and centering as too soft until it helped him outmaneuver his awful CEO that everyone at Sunderland Medical loves to hate. Picture this loves to hate. Picture this Cairo-born Akar sweating through his suit last merger season. His mindset An internet browser with a hundred tabs open. He missed his daughter's recital because his CEO, gottfried, demanded revised decks. By dawn on this one day he grumbled a car that is grumbled and fussed the whole time, but he pulled the all-nighter and delivered. Does this sound like some variation of your working life? Here is what a car's therapist taught him. When your prefrontal cortex overloads, you start deciding like a hangry toddler. But a car hacked this and you can too.

Spiwe Jefferson:

Your professional journey is unique, yet many of us share a common challenge operating on stressed-out autopilot. When we run from pillar to post, moving mindlessly through our workday, we miss chances to forge meaningful connections with colleagues that could blossom into collaborative partnerships. We miss chances to recognize moments of creative insight that could lead to innovative solutions. We don't create boundaries that honor both our professional growth and personal well-being. Building a career path aligned with our authentic values and deepest aspirations becomes elusive at best. So how do you do it? First, I want to give you a truth about stress that, if you remember nothing else, this can really help you find peace. And it's this.

Spiwe Jefferson:

Stress is most often thought-based. It's not about what's happening to you in the moment. Most often it's more about what you're thinking about, what did or didn't, or may or may not happen. Don't believe me. Think about this. When you're lying awake at oh dark 30 in the morning with your mind racing, what is actually happening? Nothing. You're lying in bed. That fight you had with your co-worker, where you wish you had said something different, isn't happening. It's in the past and no amount of ruminating will change it. That presentation you're nervous about isn't happening now. You haven't tripped over your feet on stage and fallen flat on your face to a jeering audience. None of that is happening. What is happening is that you are ruminating and your body is reacting because your mind is telling your body that there is danger. Your body is releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that are getting you into fight, flight or freeze mode, and they are increasing your alertness and, worst of all, stopping you from sleeping.

Spiwe Jefferson:

So what can you do? Either in that moment or at the beginning of your day, take five minutes to yourself. It may grow into more than that, but just start with five minutes. So let's try it together. Put your hand over your heart, close your eyes if it's safe to do so, and take three deep and very conscious breaths. Deep and very conscious breaths, big belly breaths. Inhale and feel your belly expand. Exhale and feel all that air draining out from inside you. One more time, inhale in and exhale out Again. Inhale in, exhale out.

Spiwe Jefferson:

God lovers, you can start your five minutes with a prayer inviting God to make his presence felt in this sacred space that you have created. Now that you're calmer, set an intention for how you wish to show up today. This is going to be true for you, no matter what the weather does, no matter what your co-workers do, no matter what unexpected things come at you from left field. Just think about the one thing you can control that being you, and many of us don't even control that very well. This simple practice can transform your entire workday, helping you maintain clarity amidst challenges. God lovers, ask God to shine a light on areas that need attention and give you guidance and wisdom. If you are stressed, whether in the morning or at any time during the day, take this same five-minute pause, put your hand over your heart and practice. If you need a little bit more support than that, consider adopting the RAIN technique.

Spiwe Jefferson:

The R stands for recognize. Recognize the emotions, the storm that you are feeling right now, and you can do this right now with your hand still over your heart, your eyes closed. Let's use a simple stressor that won't cause you to be triggered. For example, I mean, think of whatever petty stressor you had yesterday your overflowing inbox, that rude barista at the coffee shop, whatever it is. Bring it to your mind and then say this is stress. Just recognize that. This is the thing that's stressing me out.

Spiwe Jefferson:

The A stands for allow. Allow the emotion, explore it with kind curiosity. Don't run away from it and say things to yourself like I should be bigger than this, I shouldn't be upset about this, I really shouldn't blah blah, blah, blah, blah. Just allow yourself to feel it. I like to say mindfulness is about being present in the moment, without being overwhelmed by what's happening around you and without judgment, and it's the judgment part that many of us have a hard time with. So don't judge yourself for your emotion. Just explore it. How does it feel? Where does it feel? Do you feel it? And this is also related to the eye, which is investigated. Where is it inside of your body? When you're stressed, what happens? Do you carry tension in your shoulders? Are you clenching your fists and your toes? Do you grind your teeth? Just investigate it.

Spiwe Jefferson:

And then the N is for nurture through breath. So do that inhaling and exhaling. You can even try box breathing, which is inhale to the count of four, hold it to the count of four and exhale to the count of four. Part of the reason this works is because and this is a really great Jedi mind trick for your brain when you're lying in bed, awake at night, and you can't sleep because it's really difficult to feel fear and stress when your body is at rest. And so, rather than waiting for the fear and stress to go away, you can truncate it by breathing in the way that we just practiced. And besides, if you're busy counting to that 4-4-4 box breathing technique, it's going to be hard for you to ruminate over whatever got you stressed out in the first place, and then, once you have clarity, you can choose your alternate response.

Spiwe Jefferson:

What do you want to do instead? Who do you want to be? How would you like to show up? For example, you can say to yourself when my coworker, sue, does or says that thing that drives me nuts, I will fill in the blanks, me nuts. I will fill in the blanks. If Joe gets into that meeting and tries to take credit for my work, again, I will fill in the blanks. And don't just say the thing that you will do, but really take time to visualize it, close your eyes and see yourself. See what it looks like. Where is it? What does that conference feel like? What does it smell like, what does it sound like? Who's in it? And where are you in relationship to Joe and at what point are you going to interject? And what words, what confident words, are you going to use to take back that credit for that thing that you know he's going to try and take credit for?

Spiwe Jefferson:

Or you can say, for that difficult conversation I have to have with Richard, whether Richard is your boss or your coworker or your direct report here's how I want to show up and remember. It doesn't matter what Richard's response is. He might jump up and stump around and put a hole in the floor like Rumpelstiltskin, it doesn't matter. What matters is how are you going to show up and manage yourself and your own emotion? So, you see, you can set your own intention, like this in the morning and right before you go into that situation that you were stressed out about, take that additional five minutes and give yourself a wisdom pause, a moment to step back and reflect on how you want it to go. And you can even take a wisdom pause at the end of the day or after the meeting to reflect on your professional journey and how you did, with curiosity rather than judgment. And if you feel like you didn't do that, well, that's okay, because you know what. This is a practice, not perfection, and you can just say to yourself well, this and this didn't go as well as I would have liked, but that's okay, because the next time I will visualize again. So this is a great strategy to reduce stress. But you know what's even better? Not waiting until you are brimming with negative emotion in the first place. Make it a daily morning practice. Reflect when all is well. You can ask yourself what energizes me in my current role. Where do I feel most aligned with my values? What opportunities for growth am I ready to embrace?

Spiwe Jefferson:

You may have heard the adage seek and you shall find it is applicable in so many ways. But in this context, the more you can focus on the positive, the more you will find that in your workday it will come to pass. So how do we create our path forward? Well, remember, every master of their craft began as a beginner. My favorite motivational speaker, zig Ziglar, likes to say well, he liked to say you don't have to be great to start, but you got to start to be great.

Spiwe Jefferson:

Your professional journey is not about reaching a destination. It's about moving forward with intention, awareness and authenticity. And, if you want to be optimistic, it's about moving forward with a credible plan of action that you can execute successfully. The more you can tame stress, you will increase clarity and focus, because it's biologically difficult, if not impossible, sometimes to think straight and focus when you are in a state of high stress. As you navigate your career path, let mindfulness be your compass, guiding you toward opportunities that align with your truest self. Until next week, this is Spiwe saying be mindful and be well.

James@DiscovertheVoice:

Thank you for listening to Mindful in 5. If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend. Be mindful and be well. From Amazon, barnes, noble or wherever you get your books, visit https://www. spiwejefferson. com/ to download sample chapters of the book, watch videos and become a mindful ninja. Join us on the LinkedIn Mindful in 5 group and share your thoughts. Until next time, be mindful and be well.