If You Want to Stay Calm in Times of Crisis You Should: Start listening to your body during times of stress and build awareness around your bodies signals.  Be intentional about how you start your day and how you want to show up in the world. Incorporate small things into your morning routine that will set you up for success. Get curious about what you are feeling, label it, and sit with it instead of running from it. Practice letting go of control and accept that your reality is often something you cannot control. Shift your mindset to focus on the opportunities that your stress can bring you. Have faith that your current situation will bring you to the best-case scenario.   You know the stress you feel about changes out of your control? Have you ever considered that these changes could actually be a positive thing?  By focusing on the best case scenario you can move through your stress response system, shift your state of mind, and set yourself up through self-care rituals that take no extra time out of your busy day.   The True Effects of Stress with Nicole Mixdorf Nicole Mixdorf is a stress and crisis expert, Chief Wellness Officer of Balance by Nature, and she knows what she is talking about when it comes to stress. Nicole was recently awarded Most Influential Woman in Corporate Wellness Services USA 2020 by Acquisition INTL Magazine, as well as being named one of the Top 100 Healthcare Leaders in the World 2020 by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare.  Nicole knows first hand that despite leading a healthy lifestyle, your stress levels can play a huge role in your overall health.   Getting Over Your Overwhelm Your autonomic nervous system, or your stress response system, plays a huge role in managing your overall health. During crazy times such as these, when our feelings of overwhelm are at an all-time high, it is crucial to learn how to navigate uncontrollable change without overloading our perceived stress. Stress is one of the most insidious root causes of many health issues, and without the right tools and strategies to create balance and let your intensity go, your candle will totally burn out. The good news is that you can implement small things in your pre-existing daily routine that takes no time at all. These mindset shifts and tools to build awareness within your body can have a radical change on your stress levels day today.   Letting Go of Control and Embracing Acceptance Gratitude practices, essential oils, and deep breathing techniques can help you switch your stress response system tracks and change your state of mind. Instead of expecting change to bring you somewhere worse, focus on how that change could bring you somewhere better.  Some of the most extraordinary things that happen in life are just on the other side of fear. When you can accept your reality, sit with how you are feeling, and have faith that whatever is coming your way is supposed to be part of your human experience, you can let go of control and look within yourself to find healing. Are you ready to improve the way you move through the stress response system, shift your mindset, and set yourself up with self-care every day? Share which of Nicole’s easy, simple, and speedy self-care tips you will implement into your morning routine with me in the comments section of the episode page.   Quotes: “You can exercise, you can eat healthily, you can have a healthy lifestyle. But if you have so much stress and so much intensity in your life, it's like none of the rest of it matters.” (11:27) “The amazing thing is that it only takes three deep breaths, that's it! It takes three deep breaths to shut off the body's stress response.” (22:04) “It doesn't have to take a long time, even just five minutes can have a huge impact on your psyche and how you feel for the rest of the day.” (26:55) “In this time that we find ourselves in right now, where everything is being shaken to its core, I feel like we have this incredible opportunity