Political consultants are of course very busy during an election cycle, and effective stress management is key to staying sharp. AAPC’s most recent webinar featured an expert on mindfulness and well-being who discussed stress management strategies and ways in which AAPC members, and everyone for that matter, can find some relief.
Check out the key lessons from the webinar below, and listen to the recording for even more expert insights.
This webinar has been archived for playback. AAPC members can click here to view all webinar archives.
Key Lessons from the Webinar
- Re-connect with values and meaning: Feeling a sense of meaning and impact in our lives can be very rewarding, and helps individuals to balance stress. If you are feeling stressed in areas that are not meaningful to you, your stress can oftentimes feel far too overwhelming. However, when stress arises in areas of your life that are meaningful, you are more likely to view that stress as a challenge rather than a problem. Re-connect with the areas of your life that make you feel the most fulfilled. Individuals who have a higher sense of meaning in their life often are healthier and happier.
- Cultivating Self-Care: Self-care can be divided into two main categories, wellness and well-being. Wellness includes basic health concepts like staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, exercising and eating well. While these may seem simple or obvious, they can have major effects on your stress management. Well-being includes practices like mindfulness practices and meditation. To get started, choose a couple of the self-care practices mentioned here and focus on them for a week. At the end of the week, evaluate how they have helped you.
- Re-Framing “Stress”: Stress doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. Think of the motivation you feel when a big deadline is coming up. Under a bit of pressure, or stress, you often end up doing your best work. Re-frame your idea of stress by attempting to regain your agency over it. Rather than allowing stressing to overwhelm you, work on controlling how you manage your stress and take a proactive approach.
Access the full recording to hear additional tips from our panelists.