Rebecca Heiss

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner css=”%7B%22default%22%3A%7B%22margin-bottom%22%3A%221.5rem%22%7D%7D”][vc_column_inner][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv6Pnwjk36U&t=9s”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text] Now more than ever, as our world seems to be torn between various factions who believe one thing or another, we need to develop our communication skills especially with a nod toward empathy. To me empathy is about accepting the truth of another and reframing it to fit your own. It’s very … Read more

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Our stress response has been honed to keep us alive for 100’s of thousands of years. But when there are ongoing, long-term stressors, this system doesn’t always serve us well.

During this uncertain time, a lot of us are facing unprecedented levels of stress as we try to anticipate needs, plan for continuous change, and likely feel less secure about our futures. It’s easy to allow our stress to take over and control our lives making the cycle of anxiety that much worse.

To break away from the elevating stress it’s important to try to find some level of new routine. I like to work my stress-busting activities into my daily routine. For example, I start each day with a 10 minute meditation. Personally, I use the mobile application, CALM, but there are a number of alternatives (HeadSpace, 10% Happier, etc.).

Meditation has been linked to lower cortisol levels across a number of scientific studies. Most people shy away from meditation because they think it’s woo-woo or because they think they can’t do it. If you’re anything like me, you close your eyes and then…..you hear the voices:

Don’t forget to…

You need to be doing this other thing…

Random thought, random thought, random thought…

If you can’t completely clear your mind that’s GREAT! You’re totally normal. When we listen to these distracting voices, we have the opportunity to control them. To say, “Hey…I don’t need you right now!” Likely, they will keep coming back, but the more we practice listening to our inner voice, the more power we have to control it, and tell a different story. Perhaps one that’s more calm and positive.

After my meditation I take a 60 minute walk. Moderate exercise has also been shown to decrease cortisol and stress. During my walk I work to stay present. Noticing the birds singing, the way the path feels under my feet. The colors. The temperature. It keeps my inner voice focused on the beauty around me, rather than things that are out of my control.

When I’m home and ready to tackle my day I’m finding it really easy to slip into the ongoing news cycle. I do think it’s important to be staying up to date on the news, but I think it’s equally important to take breaks. I turn in for 10 mins of headlines 3 times a day, either on my TV/phone/or computer.

Of course, as long as I’m on my computer I find it’s difficult not to sink into the hole of social media. Staying connected in these times is going to be important, but be careful not to let yourself slide into hours of scrolling through social media content. This has been shown to increase anxiety and blood pressure. We also tend to eat mindlessly when we are in front of screens, and emotional eating can be problematic for a lot of us during stressful moments.

Take a pause.

Break from the pattern.

Even if it means getting up and walking around the house for 5 minutes, or doing some push ups or situps or dancing. Don’t be afraid to get silly. Laughter really is the best medicine and can significantly help lower stress. Stop judging yourself and have a little fun!

If you find yourself constantly distracted with concerns, put a ½ hour in your calendar to worry. Literally schedule that time. You can spend the entire 30 minutes in a state of worry, but that means that when your anxiety crops up anytime outside of those 30 minutes, you’ll be able to say, “Not now…I have time scheduled for thoughts like that,” and get back to the task at hand.

Before you go to bed, turn off all devices at least an hour before you lay down. Now is a great time to work on self-development and growth. Tackle some of those books you’ve been meaning to get to! Not having the glow of screens before bed will allow you to sleep better and sleep is KEY to staying healthy in mind and body.

Keeping your stress in check will help keep your immune system at its best. So get silly, laugh, breathe, stay present, and know we will all get through this. Stay fearless my friends.

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Life has been changing rapidly for all of us over the past few weeks. As our daily patterns and normal routines are disrupted, it’s human nature to swing from denial to panic. We need to take a pause together and not let our instincts drive us with fear.

In my keynotes, I often speak about consciously creating a common external enemy to drive teams to work better together internally. Today, our communities have exactly this common enemy in the coronavirus, and with it, we have a great opportunity to come together. We need to put aside politics, race, relgion or any other force that might be dividing us, and focus all our energies, on defeating this global enemy. Because biology doesn’t care about any of our human constructs of borders and divisions. As we Americans fight Covid-19 together, let’s remember that we aren’t in this alone. My heart goes out to the people of China Italy Iran and Spain and all of the people who are battling this now today across the world.

There is no US or THEM in this fight.

Our common enemy is clear and it’s not one another.

So let’s keep our focus on doing all we can as human communities, to fight this virus together. We are all going to have to do our part to take care of one another, but I know we can, and will rise to the occasion. Keep sorting your fears into rational and irrational to stay fear(less) out there, and reach out if there is anything I can do to help.

Stay kind. Stay Fear(less). And stay healthy.

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rebecca heiss

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Hey Everyone – welcome to the fearless blog! I’m so excited that you’re joining me on this journey to a more powerful, productive, and positive life. The point of this blog is to help us all gain back our power over fear through better self-awareness and the Fear(less) Challenge. What is the Fear(less) Challenge? I’m so glad you asked!

Fear(less) challenges are designed to help us separate out the fears that are valid and still help us in this modern environment, from the fears that helped our ancestors survive but today are outdated and preventing us from fully living.

For our ancestors, the brain’s shortcut between discomfort and death was an important one. But for us, these are usually unhelpful residual patterns that keep us isolated, stressed, and scared of the wrong things – like failure and rejection or even other people.

Fear(less) challenges inspire us all to lean into the discomfort recognizing that not all stress means we are going to DIE. Trust me. If we could die of awkwardness or embarrassment, I would definitely not be here today.

I’ve found that the more we let go of these unnecessary fears the more we make room for the good things that make life so worth living – we become more productive, creative, connected, and conscious.

The challenges are meant to push us into spaces of discomfort while ultimately leaving the world slightly better for it.  No one is meant to be fearless. Walking in front of a greyhound bus because you don’t fear it is still a poor choice…but actively deciding, choosing what deserves your fear, and what’s an ancient shortcut that needs to be overwritten, that’s power. Making that distinction is how we can become fear (less).

So please, join in! Participate in the challenges. Post about them here and on all your socials using the #fearlesschallenge. 

And let’s become fearless together!

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Fearless Quiz

The thing about starting anything new is that it’s scary. So needless to say, I’m scared right now as I take this blog in a new direction. Whether or not the fear is rational (I’ll spend the majority of this blog arguing that 99.99% of the time it’s not), it doesn’t prevent the fear from being present and feeling very real.

I’m not an expert by any means on this. I simply have found some tips and techniques useful in my own life and I think they’re worth sharing. Trust me when I say we are all beginners on this journey.

I’m tackling fear even now as I write this.

What if no one reads it? What if people do read it and they think it’s crap? What if it is crap?

Fear is ever-present in our lives. The trick isn’t to become fearless but to actively fear…less. To separate out consciously the things in life that truly deserve our fear from the voices in our heads that would prevent us from otherwise living full, happy, productive lives. So here’s to the start of something new. Here’s to the challenge of becoming….