in early 2024, I began my writing career. I was trying to write my first e-book. I still remember it was the afternoon. I was writing in my room. And suddenly I was not able to come up with any words. The reason was I was stressed.
Stressed does affect the way we work
I’ll be honest. I’ve never been good at stress management. This book, The 5 Resets by Aditi Nerurkar, changed how I see and manage stress.
In this book, Aditi learns invaluable lessons about stress management from the unique challenges faced by her patients.
Each patient’s story offers a different perspective on stress, whether it’s
- Jeanette a woman who was in her 30s had difficulty walking after a stroke
- Nicole, who was experiencing a lot of stress due to excessive screen time
- or Holly’s experience of burnout due to a lack of relaxation.
So here are some 5 strategies Aditi Nerurkar shared in her book The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience
The First Reset: Get Clear on What Matters Most
“The reason most goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.”-Robert J. McKain
Jeanette, a woman in her 50s after a stroke had to relearn how to walk. It was a challenge. This experience led her through the three zones of adapting to stress.
- Fear zone
- Learning zone
- Growth zone
When she was in her fear zone she had difficulty learning but once left the fear zone to the learning zone. There, she started to regain her mobility. Next, she entered the growth zone where she was able to learn to walk again.
The only thing that was holding her back was her fear but once she overcame her fear of failing she was able to work.
You see, Jeanette’s story isn’t just about physical recovery. It is the more about principle of growth and adaptation.
It shows that if we want to overcome our challenges we need to change our priorities. It is more about finding joy in a difficult time that aligns with the values that matter most to us.
Here’s a simple framework that helps to find your MOST goal. What truly matters to you?
find a goal for you that would be your MOST goal
- Motivating
- Objective
- Small
- Timely
M-O-S-T — most. This goal should inspire you. It must be measurable, achievable, and easy to implement. It should have a clear, near deadline.
Next, craft a plan. Focus on your goal. Then identify the steps to get there from your current situation. This method breaks your goal into small, manageable tasks. It makes the end objective feel within reach.
Clear goals can bring calmness in an uncertain, uncontrollable world. But, sometimes plans can fail. at that moment you have to be flexible since Life is a journey, not a destination.
The second reset: Finding calmness in chaos
“Research shows that your relationship with your phone has a great impact on your level of stress and consumes most of your attention and mental bandwidth, much more than your relationship with your partner or kids or even your extended family and work colleagues.”― Aditi Nerurkar
I think everyone can relate to Nicole’s story she was facing stress for months and Nicole did not realize what was causing her stress
But once when she spent hours a lot of time offline. She noticed her stress was gone the only reason causing her stress was she was having a lot of screen time
Smartphones and screens are more than just a distraction. You are rewiring your brain for constant stimulation. This leads to a state humorously which the author called this “popcorn brain,” where your focus is always disrupted.
Lesson learned from Nicoles’s story
Nicole’s experience tells us that It is important to regain focus and peace of mind. Her journey highlights the harm of unchecked digital use. It disrupts sleep, a vital but overlooked part of well-being.
Using screens before bed can disrupt your sleep cycle. To solve this problem Nicole’s follow’s this strategy:
Dedicate a quiet hour each night to disconnect from all devices. This will allow your mind to relax and prepare for sleep.
Instead of scrolling on your phone try calming activities. It will help you create a restful environment. To sleep better, make your space and routine sleep-friendly.
To Create a calming atmosphere in your bedroom.
- Dim the lights
- Make your bed
- Set the room temperature according to your needs
Doing these little things can help you harmonize with the calming atmosphere.
These can be very helpful. Add gentle stretching, meditation, or soothing music to your night routine. They signal to your body that it’s time to rest.
The third reset: Harmonizing your mind, body, and die
“the brain and peripheral nervous system, the endocrine and immune systems, and indeed, all the organs of our body and all the emotional responses we have, share a common chemical language and are constantly communicating with one another.”-Dr. James Gordon
Mental health and physical health are linked, as we know. But we do not have a complete understanding of it. For example, we cannot recognize signs of the mind-body connection in our daily lives.
Recognizing these signals can help us prevent stress and burnout.
The Stop, Breathe, Be technique
Sometimes, we need to stop, breathe, and ground ourselves in the present. It will help us feel calm and clear.
Or simply go for a 20-minute walk
A 20-minute walk can make your mind calm and will make you feel good about yourself trust I’ve been going for a month almost for a year now and it works well.
Your diet affects your stress
The connection between your gut and brain highlights how diet influences your stress levels. Your gut is an ecosystem of bacteria that communicate with your brain, affecting your mood and stress response.
Adopting a diet that supports a healthy gut can enhance this communication.
This diet should be rich in
- fruits
- vegetables
- whole grains
- fermented foods
This diet can improve both your physical and mental health.
By making small, changes in your day-to-day life routine you can reduce your stress by using these strategies:
- Mindful pauses
- Movement,
- And last but not least a balanced diet
Stress management creates strength and helps to live a happier, healthier life.
The Fourth Reset — Creating Time to Breathe in the Chaos
“We’re not going to be able to do our best work if we don’t take care of ourselves first.”-Arianna Huffington
Does living in a society of constant stress make you feel like you’re always catching up? Then you may be able to relate to Holly’s story.
The constant speed of developments in technology in her area left her feeling overwhelmed. It’s a typical burnout situation when there isn’t much time for relaxation.
She later found she could boost her mood and work. She had to reduce her workload and take short breaks.
Think about taking brief pauses during the day. Easy exercises, like walking, stretching, or deep breathing, can reduce stress.
Focus on one task at a time rather than multitasking
Multitasking is a myth. We’re switching between tasks. Sometimes, it doesn’t work. Our work gets delayed because we’re managing too many things at once.
At this point, give each task its own time; this way, you can make the most out of your time.
The fifth reset: Accepting change allows for a better version of yourself
“I would like you to write about your very deepest thoughts and feeling about an extremely important emotional issue that has affected you and your life. In your writing, I’d like you to really let go and explore your very deepest emotions and thoughts. You might tie your topic to your relationships with others, including parents, lovers, friends, or relatives; to your past, your present, or your future; or to who you have been, who you would like to be, or who you are now. You may write about the same general issues or experiences on all days of writing or on different topics each day. All of your writing will be completely confidential. Don’t worry about spelling, sentence structure, or grammar. The only rule is that once you begin writing, continue to do so until your time is up.”
― Aditi Nerurkar
In our final story, Robin, a young company owner with a new born child, felt herself under stress from her duties. She made a small mistake one morning and spilled a tiny coffee stain on her top. Instead of accepting responsibility, she blamed herself, which made her anxious.
The best we can do is to accept things as they are instead of criticizing ourselves. This consists of accepting our inner critic, which often unnoticed during stressful times.
at that moment we have to remind ourselves that it’s okay to make mistakes.
and When we accept ourselves we change
Every night at 9:30 pm, I begin with my night time routine. where I go to my bedroom to write in my gratitude journal
One of the fun parts is that you can do a lot of experiments with the way you write in your journal
- One of the best ways to start your journal entry is with the prompts.
- You can write bullet journal
- You can write about specific things that you have only shared with yourself
I started journaling just as an experiment, but as time passed, I became more and more committed to it because of the benefits. The first 6–7 days were just normal for me, but then something changed.
After the 7th day, I started seeing
1. My stress was lower
2. I was aware of myself as a person who I am.
3. I was getting a good sleep journal, which helped me calm myself down.
All of that just happened when I started journaling every night.
