A guide to living a happier, healthier and more productive life.
Ayman Assi is a British-Lebanese serial entrepreneur who has had a tumultuous yet rewarding experience since he embarked on his journey in the field of entrepreneurship. Currently, he owns a luxury concierge company Amerald UK, a Mediterranean restaurant Beit El Zaytoun, and an events company A Events.
Read on to find out how Ayman tackles the immense stress he faces on a daily basis and avoids succumbing to exhaustion and burn out.
Coping With the Immense Stress
Unlike most people’s perception, stress is not a bad thing. In fact, stress is a healthy phenomenon that our body uses to fight with uncertain or displeasing circumstances. Too much stress, however, is dangerous and risks deteriorating our mental and physical health. Unfortunately for us, the current world is more competitive and fast-paced than it used to be for the previous generations. Thus, rendering us prone to suffer from immense stress.
Ayman advises all young entrepreneurs to take a step back whenever they sense oncoming panic. Taking a step back means you stop, breathe and ponder. You should become more mindful about your triggers and devise a strategy to diminish each one of them.
Is it the sheer load of the work? Is it the impending meeting with the clients? Whatever it is, figure out how you can reduce the burden and maintain your sanity without exhausting all of your mental energy on one task.
Ayman also recommends engaging in activities like yoga, meditation, mindful exercises and alike to help calm the anxiety that follows the stress.
Avoiding Burn Out
Alleviating stress does not guarantee an exhaustion-free trajectory of your work. However, it does significantly lower its probability of happening. Burn-out is a state characterised by:
- feeling exhausted,
- feeling aversion from work that you were previously passionate about and,
- fostering cynical beliefs with respect to your work or job.
Ayman emphasizes on allotting a specific time for your family and leisure to diminish your chances of burning out. Maintaining a gratitude journal is another way to gradually switch your mind from perpetually negative thoughts to a more positive outlook.
Ayman invigorates his life by having a night of adequate sleep and thinking ahead about the tasks due the next day. He advises all aspiring entrepreneurs to invest in an app or journal where they can list all of their tasks and check them off once they complete them. This will not only result in a feeling of accomplishment but will avoid cluttering the brain space with unnecessary worry and thoughts of what is due and what is not.
“If you want to avoid falling into the spiral of stress; every single day you should have something to look forward to other than your work, something that helps calm you down and brings peace to your fatigued mind.” – Ayman concludes.