Serial Stress Killer

In this episode of The Serial Stress Killer Chris explains how over commitment can have a negative impact on your life. He also covers how you can find the commitments that may be unnecessarily taking up your time.  

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

Commitment is an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action. Our time, your time and freedom is valuable. 

We usually commit to things because we feel obligated, feel guilt or want something. 

The chase of the feel good feeling dressed up altruism is one of the hardest and most dangerous commitments, much like a drug addiction that hides under the illusion of purity. It’s very hard to identify from the outside, only you will know deep down. 

How do you know if you’ve over committed yourself? Ask yourself these three things: 

How much time do you have each day, week, month etc…?  

Do you regret any of the commitments that you’ve convinced yourself that they’re worth maintaining to keep your ego or sense of pride in place? 

Do you feel powerless to plan your life? Do you plan your life around your commitments?  

If you’re committing yourself and becoming more and more stress, then your body’s trying to tell you something. Listen to your body. 

Take some time away from these commitments to have time to reflect and relax. It will make the world of difference. 

If you can’t get out of any of your commitments try these things: 

 List all of your commitments down on paper and highlight all of your life and death commitments.  

Highlight all of the commitments that bring some kind of joy. 

Highlight all of the commitments where you’re working towards a final goal. 

Look back at your list and if there are any that aren’t highlighted then they’re probably expendable so put a cross on them and cancel those commitments.  

 

BEST MOMENTS 

‘The world relies on various forms of commitment.’ 

‘It’s very easy to overcommit.’ 

‘Recognition is the right direction to step in.’ 

‘You are probably the biggest obstacle you’re going to have to overcome.’ 

 

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

https://rebrand.ly/sskplaylist01 

Serial Stress Killer Podcast 

  

ABOUT THE HOST 

After many years of dealing (badly) with personal stress for over 20 years, Chris Hackett is on a mission to help people understand and overcome stress and anxiety by tackling the problem head-on. 

  

CONTACT METHOD 

Contact the show 

https://serialstresskiller.com 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller 

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller 

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller 

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected] 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Should you let your employees know when you’re stressed?’

 

Although this is a question that is commonly asked, it’s not as straight forward as yes or no. Communication is a huge factor in business and the way you communicate to your employees that you may be stressed matters a lot. Learn how you can communicate your stress across to your employees in a positive way by listening to this episode of The Serial Stress Killer…

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

This topic is for anyone, from business owners to employees. It’s a common conundrum that I’ve come across from a variety of people.

Whether you’re stressed in your personal or business life you’re more than likely going to be affected negatively for the rest of your day.

Employees normally feel more comfortable opening up to their managers about their personal lives. Being the business owner, employees tend to look up to you and think you can just overcome anything that gets in your way. Really this isn’t the case and it can sometimes feel lonely.

Stress can be contagious so showing that your stress could have a knock on effect.

Being stressed all of the time and not telling people about them will eventually cause a toxic environment.

If you are open about your stress or if you communicate with your employees, it can give them peace of mind and they can understand why. You don’t have to be specific when informing your employees, but communicating across your stress and why you may be acting in certain ways can really help them gain ease of mind knowing that they’re not part of the reason for your stress.

Being open and communicating well can be a great example of how to communicate well and not allowing them to ask themselves the self doubt questions.

 

 

BEST MOMENTS

“Stress in the workplace is a real killer.”

“Stress kills productivity”

‘Sometimes it’s good to distance yourself a bit from your employees.’

‘People can spot stress a mile off’

‘Bing open with your employees can make them feel better’

 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://rebrand.ly/sskplaylist01

Serial Stress Killer Podcast

 

ABOUT THE HOST

After many years of dealing (badly) with personal stress for over 20 years, Chris Hackett is on a mission to help people understand and overcome stress and anxiety by tackling the problem head-on.

 

CONTACT METHOD

Contact the show

https://serialstresskiller.com

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected]

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Serial Stress Killer Podcast. In this episode, your host Chris Hackett asks you (the listener) “What is your ‘Happy Place’ ? ” because he believes it is crucial to know what& where your ‘happy place’ is!

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

You may also have more than one ‘Happy Place’ and Chris discusses his ‘happy places’, the importance of where, what and why! 

Your ‘Happy Place’ could be anywhere or anything you want! It could be

A library

Favourite café or bar

Local park

Gym or golf course!

Theatre or cinema

Woodlands or forest

 It could even be that your ‘Happy Place’ isn’t physically real, but a mental place you can go to when you need to. 

When you’re dealing with stress it is important to have at least one ‘Happy Place’ to go to. It gives you a constant, a mandate to leave the house for a bit and escape yourself. Realistically, to work you need to have one of your ‘Happy Places’ to be convenient enough to travel to so you don’t talk yourself out of going. 

Hopefully, you have more than one ‘Happy Place’ that comes to mind; Places and activities that you love and you cherish. If you don’t have ‘Happy Places’, dealing with your stress will probably be much harder. 

Chris implores you to explore and find new places and activities to expand your ‘Happy Places’ and develop new connections, memories and opportunities.  Chris also strongly suggests you keep a list of these places and activities; to remind you of them and to keep them readily available should you need them when you need to go!

ABOUT THE HOST 

After many years of dealing (badly) with personal stress for over 20 years, Chris Hackett is on a mission to help people understand and overcome stress and anxiety by tackling the problem head-on. 

CONTACT METHOD 

Contact the show: 

https://serialstresskiller.com 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller 

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller 

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller 

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you believe that the alignment and movements of celestial objects influence events here on Earth, then this episode might interest you.  

In this episode of The Serial Stress Killer Podcast, we explore and have some fun with the zodiac signs. Discover how ways on how you can de-stress depending on what your zodiac sign says about. Though not a lot of us believe in astrology, it gives us guidance and serves as a key to introspection for all of us. Not all are true and not all will resonate, so it’s up to you how you want it to affect your life. 

Astrology is still a pseudoscience, so we encourage it to seek professional help when experiencing high levels of stress.  

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

How Signs de-stress: 

Aries (energetic, competitive, impatient, perpetual fixers) – Go on hard workouts and plan outdoor activities with other people. Don’t forget to have some alone time. 

Taurus (values security and stability, stubborn) – Self-care. Indulge your senses. Get a massage, listen to music, try new food, etc. 

Gemini (chatty, intellectual, quick-witted) – Take a break from your social activities. Take a nice stroll by the beach, watch the sunset, and enjoy the view. This will keep you renew your energy and be focused. 

Cancer (very loving but can get too sensitive) – Retreat to your safe space (i.e. your home), invite your loved ones over, and have fun. Practice the art of letting go since you hold on to things for too long. 

Leo (confident, loyal, fun) – Since you enjoy the limelight and large crowds, explore your creative skills. Write a poem, sing a song, or build something for your loved ones. 

Virgo (critical, practical, detail-oriented, perfectionists) – Meditate. Clear and keep your mind grounded. Declutter your place. Think before you say yes to anything. 

Libra (breezy, compassionate, spiritual) – Treat yourself. Buy something nice for yourself or for your home. Watch the new crime film in the nearest cinema. 

Scorpio (passionate, obsessive) – Spend time with your loved ones aside from enjoying solitary pursuits. Enjoy the beach. 

Sagittarius (daydreamers, adventurous, optimistic) – Travel. Take fun classes and learn new skills. Keep a journal. 

Capricorn (workaholic) – Get back to nature. Meditate. Allow a day to absolutely do nothing. 

Aquarius (big thinkers, inventive) – Get enough sleep. Perform a 'technology fast' often. Start that quirky hobby you’re planning to do. 

Pisces (dreamy, imaginative, empathetic) – Dive into expressive activities – painting, dancing, singing, etc. Schedule a foot massage. 

ABOUT THE HOST 

After many years of dealing (badly) with personal stress for over 20 years, Chris Hackett is on a mission to help people understand and overcome stress and anxiety by tackling the problem head-on. 

CONTACT METHOD 

Contact the show: 

https://serialstresskiller.com 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller 

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller 

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller 

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Learn to relax and engage your brain in an analogue way’  

In this episode of The Serial Stress Killer Podcast Chris discusses the importance on not relying on technology and devices to control your life. He also discusses the affect of sleep tracking apps on your devices and how they can actually have the opposite affect on your sleep than what they’re made for.  

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

I came across a recent article which indicated that sleeping apps on mobile phones may be making us focus on the wrong things. Thus, increasing the amount of time we’re spending stressing, obsessing and focusing on things such as our sleep quota. 

Some research shows that these sleep tracking apps have actually made being able to sleep worse and I’ve got to agree. Some say there’s no need to track your sleep. 

It’s not just sleeping apps that can try help us with our life. There’s apps for everything these days. 

I think we need to be careful when constantly looking for shortcuts with living life because there’s only so many dopamine hits we can get from using technology. 

If you’re using lots of apps to control your lifestyle, then try go analogue for a while. It may not give you the instant reward however over time it may help you stop obsessing over how you’re living your life. 

 

BEST MOMENTS 

“Some research shows that these sleeping apps can cause insomnia or extreme sleep deprivation.’ 

‘Obsessing over a topic is rarely beneficial.’ 

‘I know I get my best ideas when I down tools and stop being productive for a couple of hours.’  

‘It’s gotten to the point where we’ve forgotten how to think without a digital prompt.’ 

‘You don’t need an app to relax, sleep or meditate.’ 

  

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

https://rebrand.ly/sskplaylist01 

Serial Stress Killer Podcast 

  

ABOUT THE HOST 

After many years of dealing (badly) with personal stress for over 20 years, Chris Hackett is on a mission to help people understand and overcome stress and anxiety by tackling the problem head-on. 

  

CONTACT METHOD 

Contact the show 

https://serialstresskiller.com 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller 

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller 

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller 

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone’s been there. You’ve said YES to many commitments, and it’s only now you’ve noticed how much you’ve put on your plate.  

Feeling overwhelmed with work is not a good thing if you don’t know how to manage them. You have to learn how to take control of them efficiently if you want the best outcome. So, in this episode of the Stress Serial Killer Podcast, Chris discusses tips on what to do if you’re already feeling overwhelmed. It’s better that you to take action head on so you avoid repercussions. Discover how you can prevent and limit stress today! 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

When you’re already drowning with too many commitments, your brain also undergoes a lot of work. It’s now on duty 24/7. So, for you to have excellent mental health, you’ve got two choices, either learn how to manage things better or remove other commitments. 

Ask yourself, “Why am I suffering now?” Go back, evaluate, and make sure that the things you’re doing right now are for your goals. If you’ve lost interest, then change the narrative or change how you do things. And if it won’t bring you any happiness, then why do it in the first place? 

There’s a limitation for what an individual can only handle. The stress can damage your mental health and your body. So, if this is happening inside your work, tell your boss about your struggles. What they want is that you perform well and have outstanding results, so anything that isn’t helpful in their cause should be fixed. 

BEST MOMENTS 

“There are gonna be times in life that you have lots of things going on.” 

“If they care about you, they will understand, and I if they don’t care about you, then why put their needs above yours?” 

“Being overwhelmed is horrible. It can utterly destroy you.” 

“Take action, take control of your life before stress becomes the killer.” 

ABOUT THE HOST 

After many years of dealing (badly) with personal stress for over 20 years, Chris Hackett is on a mission to help people understand and overcome stress and anxiety by tackling the problem head-on. 

CONTACT METHOD 

Contact the show: 

https://serialstresskiller.com 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller 

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller 

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller 

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who likes chocolate?

Did you know that a recent study by the MS Society showed that by simply consuming hot chocolate that’s high in flavinoids, we can help our bodies to work a lot more efficiently, and reduce stress at the same time.  Maybe it’s time to change your morning habits?

Listen in as Christopher explains the science behind it...

KEY TAKEAWAYS

MS is one of the most common causes of serious disability in younger adults. Around 127,000 adults in the UK suffer from it. 

Flavinoids are substances that can slow or halt the damage to cells by free radicals, which are essentially waste material caused by processing food.

If your body can’t process these free radicals efficiently it can lead to all kinds of problems, including heart disease, cancer, strokes and respiratory diseases and many more.

Milk chocolate has lots of fat and lots of sugar, which means lots of weight gain. They are also LOW in flavinoids. Dark chocolate, however, is rich in flavinoids. Look for 70% cocoa and above.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Oh, two more of you at the back!’

‘Oxidative stress is not great!’

‘100% dark chocolate is an intense chocolate experience!’

‘I’m going to replace my morning coffee with a steaming mug of flavinoid rich chocolate!’

‘You can be a chocolate flavour, flavinoid-fuelled killer’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/serial-stress-killer/id1438515546?mt=2

  

ABOUT THE HOST

After many years of dealing (badly) with personal stress for over 20 years, Chris Hackett is on a mission to help people understand and overcome stress and anxiety by tackling the problem head-on.

  

CONTACT METHOD

Contact the show

https://serialstresskiller.com

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you don’t like your situation

All of us at some stage are going to be in a situation we don’t like. Whether it is your career, your relationships, your family or simply the result of unfortunate circumstance, you will from time to time find yourself in a difficult position and may be facing some difficult decisions 

If this is you, right now, I have some words you need to hear. 

First of all, and this is key - You do not need to be in any situation you don’t want to be in.

Ok, if you are kidnapped, trapped or being forcefully detained against your will in some way, I accept that are exceptions. 

But 99% of the time, you can choose to change something – for better or worse – that will get you out of a situation you don’t like. 

Now, you may, of course, choose to be in a situation for a number of logical reasons, some of which may be life or death pressures, but you still don’t have to be in any situation. If you can choose to walk away, no matter how hard the consequences You have a choice.  

But if you don’t like where you are, right now, you have to get busy. 

You have to start asking yourself those difficult questions and look closely at your options and you are going to have to make some decisions. 

Don’t drag things out forever, hoping that things are going to change by themselves. Don’t hope for divine intervention or that somebody somewhere is going to make the difficult decisions for you. 

You have to be the instigator. 

You have to be in the driving seat. 

Stop delaying your happiness indefinitely. If you have commitments and responsibilities that you need to account for – that’s fine. But you have to start thinking about what you want, what you are prepared to compromise on or even sacrifice in order to get it. Be honest, What you will you put up with and for how long? 

Learn to set deadlines and targets which you can measure and then stick to the outcomes. If things are no better after a period of time when you have been quietly assessing and monitoring things - you have your answer. 

Don’t go back on your own word. Don’t keep on making excuses for other people and stop pretending things will be ok if you know they never will. 

If you are in a job or relationship that makes you miserable, don’t hope that a lottery scratchcard is going to save the day. 

Now, of course, it isn’t all about the other people. If during that time YOU didn’t make an effort to improve things and just lazily drifted along hoping for that miracle, it is pretty obvious you didn’t care enough in the first place and you need to move on. But if you have put your heart and soul into making things work but something still just isn’t right – then its ok to walk away and do it with your head held high. 

Sometimes our stress and unhappiness root us to the ground. It ties us in knots and collapses our confidence. 

Don’t let it. 

Once you make a decision to change your situation without the chains of guilt and regret, you will feel immediately lighter and more energised. 

Because the real weight of frustration is not borne out of the thing we hate, it is the frustration within ourselves for enduring something we do not have to. 

CONTACT METHOD 

Contact the show: 

https://serialstresskiller.com 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller 

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller 

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller 

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone’s been there. You’ve said YES to many commitments, and it’s only now you’ve noticed how much you’ve put on your plate.

Feeling overwhelmed with work is not a good thing if you don’t know how to manage them. You have to learn how to take control of them efficiently if you want the best outcome. So, in this episode of the Stress Serial Killer Podcast, Chris discusses tips on what to do if you’re already feeling overwhelmed. It’s better that you to take action head on so you avoid repercussions. Discover how you can prevent and limit stress today!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

When you’re already drowning with too many commitments, your brain also undergoes a lot of work. It’s now on duty 24/7. So, for you to have excellent mental health, you’ve got two choices, either learn how to manage things better or remove other commitments.

Ask yourself, “Why am I suffering now?” Go back, evaluate, and make sure that the things you’re doing right now are for your goals. If you’ve lost interest, then change the narrative or change how you do things. And if it won’t bring you any happiness, then why do it in the first place?

There’s a limitation for what an individual can only handle. The stress can damage your mental health and your body. So, if this is happening inside your work, tell your boss about your struggles. What they want is that you perform well and have outstanding results, so anything that isn’t helpful in their cause should be fixed.

BEST MOMENTS

“There are gonna be times in life that you have lots of things going on.”

“If they care about you, they will understand, and I if they don’t care about you, then why put their needs above yours?”

“Being overwhelmed is horrible. It can utterly destroy you.”

“Take action, take control of your life before stress becomes the killer.”

ABOUT THE HOST

After many years of dealing (badly) with personal stress for over 20 years, Chris Hackett is on a mission to help people understand and overcome stress and anxiety by tackling the problem head-on.

CONTACT METHOD

Contact the show:

https://serialstresskiller.com

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected].

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on the Serial Stress Killer Podcast, we talk about the ‘leader of the free world’, Donald Trump, and what we could learn from his past experience about stress.

In the 90s, now-president Donald Trump had an interview with the interviewer, comedian, actress, and author Ruby Wax inside his own private jet. It was very notable since, at the middle of the interview, Donald Trump had to order the pilot to emergency land just to throw Ruby off the jet.

Now, you ask, “what’s a valuable reason that could get you thrown off a jet?” Well, after Donald Trump told her of his ambition to be the next President of the United States of America, he was responded with a burst of laughter. He wouldn’t have it.

So, did Trump overreacted or was he just protecting himself from such negativity and stress? Let me know what you think right after you listen in!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

It’s good to be ambitious but make sure that you’ll be bulletproof against adverse reactions. Some might say you’re doing a great thing; some might say you’re going way over the top. It’s up to you how you manage these reactions so they can actually help you achieve your ambition.

The #1 battle that you should always win is with your self-doubt. Learn how to defeat it and show that you are the boss. The only voice you should listen to is your own.

It’s time to stray away from people who got nothing to do but bring everyone else down. It will cost you the time to question yourself and stress yourself. Instead, use the time and energy to the essential tasks. Surround yourself with like-minded people that can help you actually better yourself.

BEST MOMENTS

“You are the sum of the company that you keep.”

“When you share your goals with somebody – you tell her about your dreams, your objectives, and the stuff that you wanna do so you could improve your own life – and they try to extinguish your fire with withering laughter, I want you to consider doing a Donald Trump… I want you to think in your head, ‘Land the plane. Get them out of here.’"

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Ruby's American Pie - When Ruby Wax met Donald Trump (full show) | YouTube

ABOUT THE HOST

After many years of dealing (badly) with personal stress for over 20 years, Chris Hackett is on a mission to help people understand and overcome stress and anxiety by tackling the problem head-on.

CONTACT METHOD

Contact the show:

https://serialstresskiller.com

https://www.facebook.com/groups/serialstresskiller

https://www.instagram.com/serialstresskiller

Support the show - https://www.patreon.com/serialstresskiller

What’s been your favourite episode so far? Connect with Chris to let him know - [email protected].

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.