How to Reduce Your Holiday Stress

Do you…

• Find yourself feeling a little more anxious and stressed during the Holidays? 
  
  
• Feel like you don’t have enough time to get it all done -- you’re shopping, wrapping, cooking, or year end deliverables for the company? 
  
  
• Feel anxious by the pressure of gift giving? 
  
  
• Feel stressed about overspending?
  
  
• Feel unfulfilled, or feel down about this being another year of unmet goals?

If any of this resonates with you, then  tune into this episode because we are sharing mindset tools from the Clarity Catalyst, a Stanford University Master’s Degree Mindset program,  that will help you Reduce Your Holiday Stress, or stress in general. 

Get clear on what is stressing you out, create an action plan to get the stressor off your plate, and enjoy the Holidays, and your life with a new peace of mind. 

This is an interactive episode which requires you to download your FREE Stress Reduction Tool to follow along. To obtain your FREE Stress Reduction tool, go to www.empowerhousecoaching.co/srt

If you are interested in taking your learnings further, check out www.empowerhousecoaching/cij-group. 

Happy Holidays!

Transcript

Hi All,

Welcome to Empowerhouse Life Coaching, the podcast.

My name is Amanda Escobedo

I’m your life coach pro, conscious design expert, master of removing mental blockers, and upgrading your thoughts, I’m  the founder of Empowerhouse Life Coaching, and I’m your host.

Welcome to episode 1 of the podcast. 

Per usual, I have a burning question for you…

• Do you find yourself feeling a little more anxious and stressed during the Holidays? 
• Do you feel like you don’t have enough time to get it all done --- you’re shopping, wrapping, cooking?  year end deliverables for the company? 
• Feel anxious by the pressure of gift giving? 
• Feel stressed about overspending?
• Is this another year of unmet goals or feeling unfulfilled?

If any of this resonates with you, then  you’ll love today’s podcast on “How to Reduce Your Holiday Stress” or, how to reduce your stress in general 

Before we give you some tools to help relieve your stress, I want to share a little bit about my life before the Clarity Catalyst, a Stanford University Master’s Degree Mindset course.

Now, right before I joined the Clarity Catalyst, I was in the beginning stages of building my business….

Creating processes

Building relationships

Building my website

building my content

Figuring out my different lead generations.

Which is a lot. 

And as you can imagine, I was playing the game, I have no time, there isn’t enough time in the day. 

Sound familiar.

As a result, I had personal responsibilities or tasks that were falling down the priority list. 

And don’t get me wrong, they were low priority….however the longer I kept them on the low priority list, the longer they took up space in my head. 

Everyday I was reminded that I still needed to or want to get X done. 

I was at the point where my anxiety and stress levels were extremely high and driven primarily by work,  trying to do it all, and feeling like I wasn’t doing enough at the same time. 

Now, through Clarity Catalyst, i’ve learned that so much of our society is obsessed with time, and we’ve created a relationship with time that feeds our stress. 

For example, We love to say things like: 

• I never have enough time
• I can’t get anything done
• I find myself wasting time

When it comes to wasting time, it’s usually related to errands lingering in our head which have been there for days, weeks, and maybe even years!!!

For example, needing to schedule that doctor’s appointment

Set up your estate or trust

Transfer your 401K from your previous job. 

We love to spend so much time thinking about what we need to do, instead of executing

And when we spend so much time thinking instead of doing, we drain our battery. 

The clarity catalyst helped me realize I was creating my own stress…

And this was great news to me!

Because we love to point the finger at people or circumstances when it comes to stress…

We love to say building a business is stressful, it comes with the territory. 

We love to say being a leader is stressful, work is stressful, my partner stresses me out, my kids stresses me out, making us the victim to circumstnace and stress. 

But the truth is, the only person stressing you out is YOU.

The  Clarity Catalyst taught me if I’m the person stressing myself out, then I have the power to shift my stress, no matter the circumstance. 

I have the power to shift how I relate to life ---and I can relate to life in a stressful way, an accomplished way, a peaceful way, or a rewarding way…

I get to decide, which means so can you!!!

And today, i’m going to help you identify exactly what is stressing you out, 

I’m going to help you let go of your worries, create an action plan to resolve your stress, and welcome a sense of peace. 

So, some of the tools I will be sharing today come from the Clarity Catalyst which, as I mentioned before, is a Stanford University Master’s degree Mindset program that was created in 1979 by Dr. Michael Ray. 

Dr. Michael Ray created this program because he saw his Business students graduating from their master’s degree program with all the technical expertise.

They got the high paying jobs and the titles, but they came back he noticed they were thinking linearly, and they shared they lacked clarity and vision for themselves, they were stressed, and they were unfilled. 

Sound familiar? 

Now, Dr. Michael Ray was a researcher with a focus in advancing innovation and developing generative leadership. 

Holding this focus and his graduate students in mind, Dr. Michael Ray created a profound program in mindfulness and emotional intelligence, which has since revolutionized the art of success. 

The design of his practical and powerful success mindset tools are built off 3 pillars, Clarity, Authenticity, and Creativity

Clarity provides your with a vision for yourself in every area of your life –– you have clarity on your next life chapter. 

Authenticity provides you with fulfillment because your vision is aligned with your truth. 

You’re operating from your unique blueprint, your purpose, and your values. 

And creativity --- the type of creativity we are going for is a state of flow

we’re going for that meditative like moment where time flies and you didnt even notice the time.

we’re going for the creativity that has you dreaming big, and desinging life of your dreams, 

And we’re going for they creativity that unlocks breakthrough thinking so you solve any problem, 

When this course was offered at Standford, it used to be called, Creativity in Business.

And when Dr. Michael Ray taught this at stanford, he used to pull in acclaimed and admirable  business leaders to speak on the topic of creativity in business. 

Some supporters and speakers of this course include: 

• Steve Jobs, co-founder, Apple Computer
• Charles Schwab, founder & CEO, Charles Schwab & Co.
• Philip Knight – founder & CEO, Nike, Inc
• just to name a few. 

Eventually, this program got taken out of stanford, and was offered to 400 women which lost their husbands in 9/11. 

If you want to learn more about their transformation from this program, I’d recommend tuning into Episode 12. 

Now that you know a little history on this course and where these tools are coming from, i’m super excited to share them with you!

So, How many of you are ready to get unstuck, reduce your stress, and enjoy your holidays, and your life with a peace of mind?

How many of you are ready to drive real behavior change at the root, and make 2022 and beyond powerful, peaceful, and prosperous years?

Now, you may have tuned into this podcast for a couple of reasons:

• Maybe you tuned in because for some tools to help you reduce your stress, and enjoy your holiday seasons…
• Or, maybe your stress extends beyond the holidays, and need clarity on how to get unstuck in a certain area of your life

• AND…I get all of that, I have been stuck in these areas too. 

SHARE YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY

Before the Clarity Catalyst, I was stressed with trying to do it all and trying to do it all right now. 

With the building of this businesses, 

I was working way too many hours…

I was losing my routines

My meal preps were slowing down

I was cutting corners dog walks and my workout routines

I was canceling on my own personal wellness days ie. massages, salt baths, meditations, etc.

I was canceling or skipping out on outings with friends…

All because I was playing the game, I have no time. 

Through coaching, I learned whatever game you play, you will win. 

And the game I was playing was feeding my stress and fizziling out my passion. 

The Clarity catalyst helped me identify and play a new game - 

It helped me create a new relationship with time. 

One that was stress free and gave me a sense of peace.

This program challenged me and said, what if you actually believed you had all the time in the world...how do you think you would respond? 

The clarity catalyst taught me to stop thinking about it and just do it. 

As a result, I got more time, I got more energy, I got more results while increasing my well being.  

I share this because there is nothing different about my results vs. my clients who have gotten the same extraordinary results through this program 

They’ve decreased their stress and anxiety

And increased their peak performance

More peace and fulfillment through increased internal balance

They’ve re-ignited their passion which has them with more motivation 

So today, what I have done for you is pulled some of the best teachings from the course to help you transform your stress into a peace of mind.

In a limited amount of time, i going to teach you as much as a I can, and then I’m going to show you how to take it further to get more. 

So let’s get started. 

Your Clarity Catalyst tool for the day is a Stress Reduction Tool  

And to get your Stress Reduction Tool, you’re going tro need to pause this podcast right now, and go to www.empowerhousecoaching.co/srt

For this podcast, we’re going to help you reduce your Holiday Stress, or your stress in general, using this tool. 

again, www.empowerhousecoaching/srt

Once you download the that tool, print it, and grab your pen.

When you download this tool, you’ll see 2 pages. 

Page 1 has 2 columns, and the top says, What’s Causing Your Stress. 

That’s the page we’re going to start on. 

Once you have your tool printed and ready, press play to this podcast and bring me back!!

To reduce you’re stress, what we want to do is get clear and identify the things that are stressing you out,  then make commitments around it, and implement resources or accountability that will help get the stressor off our plate. 

In doing so, we make more room for joy, creativity, and peace.. 

Before we get the stressor off your plate, we want to know, does it require: 

• action to resolve, clarity to resolve a new attitude to resolve, or maybe all three

Now, what do i mean by action, clarity, or new attitude 

For example: 

• Requires action - this could be something you just need to do, and then the stressor is gone. for me, I had the idea to launch a podcast a while back. But that idea was sitting in my mind for days, weeks,, and months– I wasn’t taking action. I wasn’t taking action because I had blown up  how complicated the process would be to create. But everyday, I was reminded, I want to make a podcast, I want to make a podcast, I want to make a podcast!
• So, I finally just set a a Saturday, and dedicated the day to writing my first episode, recording my first episode, editing my first episode, and ,and uploading my  episode to a podcast platform. I just did it - and then the stressor was gone...And what’s interesting is that the process of creating a podcast ended up being fun!
• Requires clarity - This could be do I go left or right in my relationship, in my career, my living situation, or something a little more simple.  for me, when I started coaching, I knew this was work I was supposed to be doing...but i didn’t have clarity on who I wanted to serve...So the way I got clarity was, I just started coaching anyone that would let me coach them, 
• In parallel, I meditated on the question, i journaled about the question. 
• I took a lot of time to look within. 
• I finally had served enough tclients that I was able to reflect on past and current clients and ask myself, which one of my client goals lite me up….eventually, I got my answer. Clarity required me to do a bunch of different actions to get my clarity….
• Requires a new attitude - Requires a new attitude is usually related to circumstances you have no control over. 
• For some of you which don’t know me that well...I've had three open heart surgeries….
  • I was born with heart defects and had my first surgery at the age of 1, and my last 2 surgeries at 27
  • Surprisingly, i already had a great attitude about going into surgery at age 27...I wasnt scared one bit
  • I was excited to get some of my annoying symptoms fixed, and to feel normal again…
  • I went into that surgery, the recovery in the hospital absolutely sucked..but was like, whatever, i’ll be released from the hospital soon and it will be all better.
  • And the doctor’s did a final test on me before they released….and i remember asking, what are you looking for..
  • .to make sure you’re not leaking
  • They did the test, the results came in, then like 7 physician assistance walked in and said you’re still leaking, .
  • And i said, what does that mean...and they said, you came in with a moderate to severe leak, and you have a moderate sever leak
  • We’re not sure what happened, but youre going to need another surgery..
  • And that was the first time I started crying, i balled for 2 days straight
  • I responded with an immediate migraine when I heard the news
  • And that was the first time I was scared…and really stressed
  • before, I had no real worries that something could go wrong. 
  • I knew there was a risk with surgery, but I chose to focus on the percentage of success, which was a very high percentage 
  • But this time, I was on the wrong side of the statistics
  • Which had me thinking, something can go wrong in surgery, something did go wrong in surgery….and what if it goes wrong again? 
  • These were the thoughts which were consuming me. 
  • but two days later, I was scheduled for my second surgery, 
  • And when,  i woke up to the rocky song in my head….I remember washing my face, staring in the mirror and thinking, the fight aint over…
  • There is no way in hell im getting taken out that easy. 
  • And when The phsyhcian assistants came into my room to prepare me for my surgery,  they all paused and were like, someone has a new atitutde
  • And I told them, Im not going out that easy…challenge accepted....it’s go time. 
  • That my friends, is what we call a new attitude in relation to circumstances that are out of your control . 

Now the key to reducing your stress, 

• We need to Find out:
  • What is most stressful?
  • What gets in your way?
  • What eats up your time and slows you down?

Now with your stress reduction tool, or with your piece of paper, in your left column, I want you to identify 3 things that are stressing you out and in the right column, I want you to identify the type of stressor

As a reminder, your stressors will either require action, clarity, or a new attitude to resolve. 

It might also be a combination of all 3!

Because we’re talking about the Holidays, 

Holiday stressors you might be experiencing could be related to

• year end deliverables --too much to do and so little time - So the stressor type might just require action--stop thinking about it and just do it. 
• maybe you’re stressed because you haven’t done your shopping, and shopping gives you anxiety - this could require action and a new attitude
• Maybe you’re stressed because have to see family that you don’t want to see? This could require a new attitude. 
• Maybe your’e stressed because it’s another year of unmet goals and feeling unfulfilled - this could require action and clarity 
• Maybe you’re stressed because you don’t have clear milestones or goals to help you feel grounded for the new year - this could require clarity 
• Or maybe you’re stressed because there’s a new variant of Covid - this could require a new attitude 

If you feel comfortable, I’d love for you to put in the chat what’s stressing you out, and the type of stressor, action, clarity, or new attitude is needed, or one or more…to resolve 

If it’s too many things to type out, feel free to type into the chat your stressor types. Does it require action, clarity, a new attitude, or all three to resolve? 

Now for me, what’s stressing me out is my business plan for the new year….I’ve been pushing it off..And the stressor type is action---I just need to do it! 

it’s in my head---I just need to do pen to paper. 

-----

Now, we’re going to move onto page 2 of your Stress Reduction tool, or you can go to the second page of your piece of paper. 

If you have a blank piece of paper, draw in 3 columns. 

And at the top of each column, write out commitment, obstacles, resources. 

Now that we have gotten clear on WHAT is Stressing you out, and What is needed to resolve it, ie. action, clarity, or a new attitude, 

The next step is to get the stressor off your plate!

So let’s pick one of the stressors on your list.

Figuratbiely, let’s say you’re stressed because of year end deliverables –-- you feel like there is too much to do and too little time. 

And the type of stressor is an action stressor. 

In order to take the stressor off your plate, we have to create an action plan. 

And an action plan requires you to know the What, the How, and by When, which we’re going to add in column 1. 

We’ve already identified the What. 

What is year in deliverables, and feeling like you dont have enough time

The what is the stressor type to resolve, which is action. 

[refer to page 1]

Now  we want to outline the by when….when do you want to get this year end deliverable done. 

If it’s a year end deliverable, i’m going to asume you already have a deadline...so Let’s say, your deadline is 12/23. that is your by when. 

You can add your deadline to column 1.

Then we move into the by HOW. 

How many hours do you need to get your year end deliverables done….

You might say, I need 5 hours. 

Ok, if it’s 5 hours, the follow up question is, how do you want to spread that time… over 2 days, over a week? 

What we want ot do is chunk it down. 

Let’s say, you want get it done over 2 days. Monday and wednesday.

Great, but You’re not off the hook that easy...What time are you getting this done…

9-11 on Monday, and 9-12 on Wednesday, 

If you notice, we’re creating a commitment for you!

Again, to create the commitment is to identify the what, the by when, and the how.

once you’ve created your commitment, we’re going to move into column 2, and help you identify your obstacles

What might get in the way of you getting your project or work done during that time…

You might say staying focused, social media….my employees pinging me/needing something...or a work fire arising which needs my attention. 

Now, you’re becoming aware of your circumstantial obstacles, AND your own self sabotaging behaviors. 

so Add those obstacles to column 2.

What are some obstacles for you? go ahead and put that in the chat.

Once you’ve identified and flushed out your potential obstacles,

We’re going to move on to Column 3, Accountability/Resources. 

Now that you know your obstacles, what structures could you put in place to set you up for success? 

And do a little brainstorm with yourself. 

So in the example of year end deliverables, some of the obstacles we identified was issues with being focused, social media, employees needing and pinging you, work fires needing your attention….

Understanding my attention span, I might say...ook, being focused for 3 straight hours is not reasonable for me right now...but I definitely stay focused for 1 hour…

And employees pinging me, or work fires, that usually starts around 9 AM. 

So maybe I break out the hours further, and work on my deliverables for 1 hour each day monday-friday, and schedule time at 8….

I could also put my phone in another room to help reduce my distractions. 

What about for you….what are some structures you can put in place for you? Go ahead and put that in the chat

And there you have it! 

Together, we just got clear on what is stressing you out, we identified the stressor type to resolve it, and we created an action plan to take the stresser off your plate!

How did that feel? I hope that felt amazing…

But let’s go through one more example….

I think it would be really beneficial to go through a stressor that requires a new attitude. 

stressors or circumstances which are out of your control. 

Let’s say you’re going to a family get together, and there is going to be an in law there that rubs you the wrong way. 

It’s like this in law was placed on this planet to piss you off and get under your skin. 

So...as a reminder, to complete column 1, we need to answer the what, the how, and by when. 

In this case, we’d like to start off by getting very clear on what is it about this in law that pisses you off.

You might say, this in law is a negative nancy. 

He’s super critical and judgemental about everything and everyone. 

He doesn’t know how to read a room, and keep his comments to himself. 

He loves to talk over people and be a mr. know it all.

Once you’ve outlined all the different things that piss you off about this person - you’ve gotten clear on what pisses you off…

We want to outline the how----and the way we work through the how is by turning lemons into lemonade. 

To do this, you may ask yourself, when I see my in law...what might i get to practice. 

And you might say patience, self control, tolerance, forgiveness….

And then I want you to dive deeper...I’m going to practice patience, what does that actually look like? 

And I might say, well, patience looks like when I receive a criticism, i say thank you for your feedback, and i’ll take that into consideration. 

Or, instead of leaving the family function angry, I could go to bed in gratitude. 

And be in gratitude that you know, my sister’s husband is super judgemental and critical, but i’ll give it to him...he is a loyal partner to my sister, and he is a very present dad. 

Once you’ve identified some hows, how you’re going to shift your attitude and by when, Ie. i’ll practice patience at the event, and i’ll practice gratitude when i go home and i’m in bed….

You’ve just creating a commitment for yourself to get your stressor off your plate…..

Then we move into the obstacles….what do you foresee getting in the way of your new commitment to yourself…

And boy...with something like this, i’m sure you’ll have a few obstacles for yourself…

One might be your instinctual reaction to say, FU bro to his criticism, or your instinctual reaction to role your eyes at him, or …

You might say, patience is easier said than done….

I have my own judgements about him….that will be hard to let go

Once you’ve outlined all of your obstacles, then you’d move onto column 3 and identified accountability or resources to support you. 

For example, maybe you have post its all around your house for a week that say P, for patience. So for a week, you’re reminding yourself to be patience. 

If you’re praciticing gratitude before you go to bed, maybe you start that practicing that  now, everyday, before you see your in law...so you walk into the family function, you will have already started to cultivate thoughts of gratitude for this person

OR, mabe you and your partner decide….you know, this in law is a character, and it’s kind of funny. And everything he says something critical, you and YOUR partner wink at each other...and that’s a code for, we’re in this together. 

or, maybe you and your partner make a game out of it…

Every time johnny, you’re in law criticizes someone in the family, you are your partner drink…you take a small sip…

Or, maybe you and your partner, make a bet—how many times you will count a criticsi, or he talks over someone….loser has to by the other person dinner…

Get creative with your support and your accountability….you’re brainstorming until you feel like, ok, i i got this. 

Alright folks, that is your Stress Reduction Tool from the Clarity Catalyst 

Now, if you’re in a place in your life where you want to these learnings further….

They you’re invited to join the Clarity catalyst group coaching program.

This group is perfect for purpose driven leaders which…

• Ie. feels stuck because they want to make an impact while making an income – but don’t know exactly how to take their gifts and talents and turn them into a fulfilling and rewarding profession.  
• This program is great for leaders that feels constantly overstretched because they are always doing everything for everyone else and not for for themselves
• This program is great for someone that struggles with letting things go that are beyond your control.  
• And this program is great for a leader or high achieve which feels constantly overworked and overwhelmed, they have no work life balance.
• 
  

I have been stuck in all of these areas….

Now if this sounds like you, 

Join us in January!

The next cohort for the Clarity Catalyst launches January 10, 2022. 

Now, if you’re someone thats like, yeah, i dont do groups…

Well, here’s a fun fact for you. 

According to a Harvard study,  only 25% of your success is determined by your IQ

75% of your success is determined by how you see the world and WHO you surround yourself with. 

In the CLarity  Catalyst group coaching program,

1. provides you with  the tools to aling your mindset and your beliefs with what you say you want in the external world 

1.  
2. it provides you with a network and support group of inspiring purpose driven leaders. 

There is something so powerful about having someone outside of you believe in your possibilities, hold you to a higher standard of yourself, and remind you of your power. 

And there is power in accountability – we give each other that right kick in the butt when we fall off track – because we’re human and we do. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the program visit www.empowerhousecoaching.co/cij-group

Once again, visit www.empowerhousecoaching.co/cij-group. I’ll include a link to the show notes. 

There are limited seats and spots are filling fast. 

Registration for this course closes January 5th. Don’t wait!

Now, if you’re on here, and you’re like YAAAAS...this is something I want to be a part of...I’m so down, I’m so ready to invest in my personal development.

..then, I’d love to give you a gift. 

Tis the season of giving right? 

I would love to gift you with 10% off!

Regular price for this program is 995, because you ilstedn to this podcast your price with 10% off would be about 895. 

To access your 10% discount, you must go to www.empowerhousecoaching.co/cij-group to purchase your seat now - I’ll put this in the show notes. 

Go to www.empowerhousecoaching.co/cij-group. 

And your discount code for your purchase is NewYear10, once again, NewYear10.

Now, if you found value in this episode, please gift the gift of sharing information and share this podcast with 3 people in your network. 

Share this with someone that would benefit in creating resolutions for the new year, or would benefit from the Clarity Catalyst. 

Alright folks,  I’m Amanda Escobedo, and you’ve been listening to Empowerhouse Life Coaching, the podcast.

If haven’t yet, go to apple podcast, or where you get your podcast, subscribe and review this podcast.

Join me next time in another conversation about removing mental blockers, unlocking your potential, and elevating to new heights.

Thank you for listening.