An article on beating stress and being happy.
Karen Golding Smith is the founder of Excitant Health, a company that helps people become advocates for themselves; this ensures for better healthcare experiences and reduced medical errors.
Karen chose to walk this path due to the horrific experiences she faced a while back; the death of her twins in a NICU and her son narrowly surviving a thoracic surgery. For over thirty-years Karen has transformed the lives of dozens of individuals and in this article, we will learn how she’s been able to cope with the stress and achieve success in any field she treads.
Avoiding Burnout
Burnout is a feeling that we experience as a result of continuous exposure to stress. Karen recalls the first things she and her husband talked about when they were just getting to know each other, honesty was always the topic of conversation. They called it ” having all the cards on the table face up.”
Karen shares that this same principle applies to business. She says that stress occurs when something goes wrong or misunderstandings happen. To overcome this, she looks for clarity, mutual understanding, and purpose. She also states that sometimes it requires stepping away to think things through.
According to Karen, another reason burnout occurs is due to our inadequate lifestyles outside of work. Karen shares that most people work extra long hours and expect to live a healthy life. Working hard is good but you should allow
It to make you lose sight of overall wellness and your family. If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of others and make an impact.
Overcoming Obstacles
Karen has faced a lot of obstacles, one being the recession that occurred in 2008. Back then Karen had just developed a nursing education course and received her accreditation. But due to the recession, a lot of hospitals ceased from bringing in external instructors in order to save costs.
No one seemed to acknowledge that Karen’s goal was truly to save lives with her calling. Frustration set in and it seemed like all hope was lost.
Eventually, Karen realized that giving up would bring her vision to an end, so she set out to find another way. Karen shares that she had to exhibit a lot of patience and boldness. She further explains that she became a flexible thinker; she wasn’t open to only one way of achieving a goal, Instead, she held her end goal in mind as though it had already been accomplished and expected it to unfold in a different way and timeframe.
“Be patient and tenacious and don’t run from those moments of fear and doubt. People have asked me if it’s scary to tackle something so huge. My answer? Sometimes, yes -it is a huge undertaking- but there’s no way those moments are going to slow me down.”- Karen says
Warding Of Stress
To avoid stress, Karen recommends that you turn your attention from something other than work to something that makes you smile, feeds your soul and brings you peace.
It can be an activity as simple as deep breathing or spending some quality time to reflect on all the good things that have happened in your life. She states that the key is to give yourself permission to do things that restore your mind, body, and soul.
“Put challenges into perspective, what is the most important thing to you in this finite life? If you are able to find joy and gratitude even after a tough day, you’ve won!”- Karen
After a stressful day at work, Karen sets out time to acknowledge the victories she achieved that day, no matter how big or small. She finds things to be grateful for and shares a laugh with something about something fun that happened in the last.