Work life balance can be hard to achieve… Can powerful affirmations and meditation help?
We have all been stressed. We have all felt the anxiety that goes along with trying to balance work, family, and life.  Even just considering how to organize your life and your business at the same time can be stressful. Similarly, we have heard too much stress is a bad thing. But what does it all mean really?
Please excuse my bluntness when making the following statement, but the bottom line is: stress – and a lack of stress management – is making us (humans) fatter, sicker, and dumber.
Powerful affirmations and meditation can help to relieve the stress created by our daily lives.
According to Psychology Today, over time, stress leads to increased appetite, causes our bodies to hold onto fat longer, and interferes with our willpower to implement a healthy lifestyle. So stress causes us to gain weight.
Likewise, stress also lowers the effectiveness of our immune system and weakens the ability to fight off infection. Consequently, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and depression are just a few conditions that have been proven to have higher risk due to stress.
Therefore, stress and poor stress management causes us to be more susceptible to illness.
Researchers at UC Berkeley have discovered that chronic stress triggers long-term changes in brain structure and function. Those who are exposed to chronic stress are more prone to mental problems, learning disabilities, and decreased memory. So stress takes its toll on our brain activity.
When you are stressed, using powerful affirmations and meditation may be the last thing you want to do. However, the benefits in relation to stress management are many – especially for business owners and entrepreneurs.
These studies are a generalization among the population as a whole. For business owners and entrepreneurs, the effects of stress are magnified that much more.
Often, business owners and entrepreneurs shoulder an even larger burden with the added pressures of managing your own enterprise.  Research group Bolt Insurance found that “almost half of small business owners believe that the stress of running their business has damaged their health.”
My thought is that the other half either won’t admit it or haven’t yet realized it.
The stress of running an enterprise is real, and moreover so is the impact of stress on our bodies and minds.  We want to have a happy life – to achieve a work life balance that is healthy – but we can’t just stop working.  So what do we do about it?
Do powerful affirmations and guided meditation make for more successful entrepreneurs?
The Harvard Business School along with INSEAD—Europe’s leading business school—have concluded from their research that the two most effective business tools for twenty-first century executives (and entrepreneurs) are meditation and intuition.
Furthermore, the benefits of meditation – including power affirmations – in the workplace are cumulative. This means, they build on one another, starting with the individual and from there, positively impacting the performance of the business as a whole.
Meditation has been proven to improve mental clarity and focus, both of which are crucial for success in business. Ultimately, many aspects of our business enterprise will benefit with a renewed sense of clarity and focus — improved communication, less work missed due to illness or apathy, and greater productivity.
Not surprisingly, many of today’s most productive leaders and business people have been practicing meditation and/or mindfulness as part of their daily routine for years.
From Oprah Winfrey, to Arianna Huffington; from Russell Simmons, to the late, great Steve Jobs, they all are huge advocates of the benefits of meditation. Likewise, many consider power affirmations vital to success too.
Similarly, a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Google, AOL, Apple and Aetna, offer meditation and mindfulness classes for employees. If it is good enough for these global titans of industry, and the health benefits are so widely proven, shouldn’t we all consider making meditation a part of our daily method of operation?
Let’s look at where we can get started on the road to self development through meditation.
Luckily, there are so many different forms of meditation, so nearly everyone should be able to find a form that is interesting and beneficial to them.
There is mindful meditation, in which you broaden your conscious awareness and focus on what you experience during meditation, such as the flow of your breath. You can observe your thoughts and emotions, but let them pass without judgment.
Transcendental meditation is a simple, natural technique. In this form, you silently repeat a personally assigned word or phrase, in a specific way, invoking a state of profound rest and relaxation. Ultimately, your mind achieves a state of inner peace without needing to use concentration or effort.
Similarly, there is mantra meditation, where you silently repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts.
Also within the meditation family are tai chi, yoga, qi gong, prayer, and many others. For beginners, a great place to start exploring a meditation practice is to follow a guided meditation. With guided meditations, you are taken through the practice by a teacher or guide. Generally, these guided meditation sessions use vivid imagery and sensory stimuli to promote an environment of positivity, calm, and inner peace.
The time is now to get on the path to calm, focus, and clarity.  Kick stress to the curb with powerful affirmations and meditation. Then, watch the amazing results in productivity, health, finances, and overall life balance.
Susan Sly is a best selling author, speaker and entrepreneur. She has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox, Lifetime Television and the CBN. Susan is the mother of five children and resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.
