The Balance Beacon: Guiding You Back to Center When the Road Gets Rough

Hannah Guenther Author

06/25/2025 Added

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In installment #8 of Roadside Reflections, Hannah Guenther talks about stress management for Extension professionals.

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[00:00:00.000]Hello everybody, my name is
[00:00:03.770]Hannah Genther. I am a rural
[00:00:06.180]health extension educator and I
[00:00:09.590]am really excited to be here
[00:00:12.170]today and talk to you guys just
[00:00:14.790]about how to handle stressful
[00:00:17.520]situations, specifically in
[00:00:20.630]meetings.
[00:00:21.440]So as you guys probably know,
[00:00:23.490]or if you've attended my
[00:00:25.220]stopping the stress cycle
[00:00:26.880]presentation, you know that a
[00:00:29.020]couple of years ago, I really
[00:00:30.880]did feel like the stress in my
[00:00:32.640]life was controlling me and
[00:00:34.380]that I really did not have
[00:00:35.940]control over my stressors.
[00:00:38.000]And stress is inevitable. There's
[00:00:40.610]no way of avoiding it, but we
[00:00:42.270]can control how we respond to
[00:00:44.000]it in a very productive way so
[00:00:45.650]that we can control it and it
[00:00:47.270]is not controlling us.
[00:00:50.100]So I'm not going to I'm not
[00:00:51.360]going to talk about, you know,
[00:00:52.980]again, all the different things.
[00:00:54.880]You know, I've talked about
[00:00:56.580]that previously about how to
[00:00:58.660]manage stress in your life, you
[00:01:00.200]know, via, you know, physical
[00:01:02.170]touch and physical activity and
[00:01:04.090]being creative.
[00:01:05.440]But I really thought about
[00:01:07.380]today just well, actually, last
[00:01:09.710]week I was in a meeting and it
[00:01:11.560]got a little stressful, you
[00:01:13.640]know, and that can happen to so
[00:01:15.690]many of us.
[00:01:16.800]And it really does have the
[00:01:19.080]ability to kind of knock us off
[00:01:21.670]balance and really kind of
[00:01:24.040]shift the tone of our entire
[00:01:25.260]day.
[00:01:25.440]And when we're in a meeting,
[00:01:27.380]whether that's via Zoom, in
[00:01:29.220]person, it is a little bit more
[00:01:31.360]challenging to actually
[00:01:32.980]practice those stress
[00:01:35.130]mitigation techniques.
[00:01:36.280]And then, you know, we're kind
[00:01:38.510]of stuck in this stressful
[00:01:40.310]situation.
[00:01:41.380]And then it really doesn't
[00:01:42.640]allow us to move forward and be
[00:01:44.150]productive with our time.
[00:01:45.580]So I really want to set the
[00:01:47.520]stage there that the tips that
[00:01:49.720]I want to kind of bring to you
[00:01:51.790]today are focused on when we
[00:01:53.860]are in a potential meeting in
[00:01:56.030]hopes that it'll kind of help
[00:01:58.190]us recenter and get us back on
[00:02:00.340]balance.
[00:02:01.480]So the first tip that I love is
[00:02:05.260]really the controlled breathing.
[00:02:09.480]So when we obviously if we're
[00:02:11.090]on Zoom or typically a lot of
[00:02:12.640]my meetings are on Zoom and it's
[00:02:14.370]really challenging for me.
[00:02:16.280]You know, you can't always be
[00:02:17.520]like, let me, you know, first
[00:02:18.690]off, when I get stressed and I
[00:02:19.940]can't believe I'm telling you
[00:02:21.060]guys this because now you're
[00:02:22.050]going to see it if you're ever
[00:02:23.140]in a meeting with me.
[00:02:24.220]If I begin to get stressed, I
[00:02:25.720]have this tendency to really
[00:02:27.380]show it on my face.
[00:02:28.400]My eyebrows go up. I cross my
[00:02:30.420]shoulders and I just kind of
[00:02:32.270]physically shut down.
[00:02:34.600]Now, sometimes I do try to turn
[00:02:36.090]my camera off and kind of reset
[00:02:37.500]for a minute, but sometimes
[00:02:39.020]that's not always an option.
[00:02:40.120]So I really love leaning into
[00:02:41.520]this controlled breathing.
[00:02:42.940]Now, there are a couple methods
[00:02:44.430]to do this.
[00:02:45.060]One is the box breathing method,
[00:02:46.740]which I don't really love, but
[00:02:48.360]I really love doing affirmation
[00:02:49.920]breathing.
[00:02:50.660]So on the inhale, I will be
[00:02:53.450]okay no matter what happens
[00:02:56.430]next.
[00:02:57.380]And it doesn't have to be this
[00:02:59.320]like, you know, while you're in
[00:03:01.160]the Zoom.
[00:03:01.980]I mean, it truly could be as
[00:03:05.740]simple as, I mean, you don't
[00:03:08.180]have to, you don't have to
[00:03:11.100]push it out through your mouth,
[00:03:12.590]but really just kind of
[00:03:13.710]grounding yourself, recentering
[00:03:15.320]with that affirmation.
[00:03:16.480]I will be okay no matter what
[00:03:18.420]happens next.
[00:03:19.520]And it is so true.
[00:03:20.300]You will be okay no matter what
[00:03:21.560]happens next.
[00:03:22.340]Speaking of grounding, I do
[00:03:23.740]think it's important to you
[00:03:25.110]when we're in stressful
[00:03:26.150]situations,
[00:03:26.960]a lot of times, especially in a
[00:03:28.360]meeting, our mind begins to
[00:03:29.570]spiral.
[00:03:29.920]You know, we were present in
[00:03:31.160]the meeting.
[00:03:31.820]We were totally tuned in,
[00:03:33.080]focused, something, a
[00:03:34.300]disruption occurs.
[00:03:35.520]We're really thrown off balance
[00:03:36.920]and all of a sudden we're spiraling
[00:03:38.290]out of control.
[00:03:39.040]I mean, our mind's going to, oh
[00:03:40.290]my gosh, what am I going to do
[00:03:41.450]tomorrow?
[00:03:42.100]What am I going to do next year?
[00:03:43.180]Oh my gosh, all the work that I've
[00:03:44.790]done.
[00:03:45.240]I can't believe they did this.
[00:03:46.880]I feel so betrayed.
[00:03:47.700]And unfortunately, the spiral
[00:03:49.310]kind of continues and continues.
[00:03:51.080]And it can be, we're completely
[00:03:53.020]out of our body at that point.
[00:03:54.700]And so, so deep in our head.
[00:03:57.200]So grounding can be a really
[00:03:58.600]nice way just to, again, bring
[00:04:00.340]us back to where we are
[00:04:01.300]physically at.
[00:04:02.540]And so one really nice method
[00:04:04.700]is to kind of just get in touch
[00:04:06.860]with our senses.
[00:04:08.360]So first, just looking around,
[00:04:10.770]what are five things that you
[00:04:12.820]see?
[00:04:13.400]So, again, it could be on your
[00:04:15.010]screen.
[00:04:15.520]It could just be in your office.
[00:04:16.740]You know, like I see my
[00:04:17.980]sparkling water.
[00:04:19.100]I see my pen.
[00:04:21.020]I see my little evil eye
[00:04:23.020]lipstick box thing.
[00:04:25.380]I see my glasses case, you know?
[00:04:27.900]So number one, we're looking
[00:04:29.400]around, we're seeing where we're
[00:04:30.680]at.
[00:04:30.900]Then four, we're going to look
[00:04:32.520]for four items that we feel.
[00:04:34.200]I feel the rings on my hands.
[00:04:37.060]I feel my feet in my shoes.
[00:04:39.620]I feel my sweater on my
[00:04:41.230]shoulders.
[00:04:42.300]So we're going to just, again,
[00:04:43.540]get into that, that touching.
[00:04:44.700]Then I want you to hear, I hear
[00:04:46.830]the sound of my emails.
[00:04:48.720]I hear the bubbles in my
[00:04:50.120]sparkling water.
[00:04:51.200]I hear what's happening outside
[00:04:53.380]of my office.
[00:04:55.180]And then I want you to go into
[00:04:56.420]smell.
[00:04:56.660]So what is it that you smell?
[00:04:58.340]I smell my air freshener in my
[00:05:00.340]office.
[00:05:01.140]I smell my cup of coffee.
[00:05:02.520]And then last but not least,
[00:05:03.760]can you taste anything?
[00:05:04.880]And, you know, it sounds kind
[00:05:06.720]of silly, but it really is just
[00:05:08.660]kind of bringing yourself back
[00:05:10.310]to where you're physically at.
[00:05:11.900]If you don't want to go through
[00:05:13.510]all the five senses, you can
[00:05:15.060]even keep it simpler and just
[00:05:16.460]truly think about where are
[00:05:17.930]your feet.
[00:05:18.780]Feel, literally feel what is
[00:05:20.780]underneath your feet.
[00:05:22.500]Feel what you are sitting on.
[00:05:25.180]And sometimes that's all it
[00:05:26.420]takes just to, again, get you
[00:05:27.790]out of your mind and back into
[00:05:29.180]your body.
[00:05:29.640]And the last tip that I really
[00:05:31.890]do think is very helpful, and
[00:05:34.240]this is a more recent tip
[00:05:36.200]and find for me, is to practice
[00:05:38.330]thankfulness.
[00:05:39.620]And sometimes this can truly be
[00:05:41.300]the hardest tip of all,
[00:05:42.780]especially when we are dealing
[00:05:44.340]with stress or stressful
[00:05:45.580]individuals.
[00:05:46.340]It can be really hard to be
[00:05:47.830]like, wow, I am very thankful
[00:05:49.790]to be working with this
[00:05:51.120]individual
[00:05:51.800]or working with this really
[00:05:53.200]challenging project or, you
[00:05:54.570]know, I mean, it can be really
[00:05:55.920]hard to do.
[00:05:56.580]But I was actually, I heard
[00:05:58.210]this from a professor recently,
[00:06:00.360]and we were just talking about,
[00:06:02.110]you know,
[00:06:02.880]what a crazy time it is to be
[00:06:04.120]in public health.
[00:06:05.200]There's so much uncertainty.
[00:06:06.440]Everyone is kind of like, oh,
[00:06:08.050]my gosh, what's going to happen
[00:06:09.950]next?
[00:06:10.220]And instead of focusing on that
[00:06:12.160]worry, instead of just kind of
[00:06:14.000]like every day being like, what
[00:06:15.660]is going to happen?
[00:06:17.460]using every day as an
[00:06:18.700]opportunity to develop your
[00:06:20.230]personal and professional
[00:06:21.740]skills. And I really was
[00:06:23.320]like, wow, work is such an
[00:06:25.260]opportunity. And even the most
[00:06:27.260]challenging conversations, the
[00:06:29.540]most
[00:06:30.000]challenging tasks, not only is
[00:06:31.950]that, you know, again, an
[00:06:33.780]opportunity for you to do
[00:06:35.190]something you
[00:06:36.180]enjoy in terms of work, but you
[00:06:38.180]really are developing personal
[00:06:40.240]and professional skills.
[00:06:42.660]So that has just been such a
[00:06:44.060]game changer for me.
[00:06:45.320]Truly, every time I sit down at
[00:06:47.010]my desk, I get excited because
[00:06:49.140]I'm like, what what skills
[00:06:51.180]am I going to really hone in on
[00:06:52.860]today?
[00:06:53.460]Like, what skills am I going to
[00:06:55.070]develop, even when it is even
[00:06:56.620]just dealing with a challenging
[00:06:58.440]meeting or a challenging
[00:06:59.680]individual?
[00:07:00.180]So again, hopefully this was
[00:07:02.950]helpful for you.
[00:07:04.540]I know sometimes you can feel
[00:07:05.940]trapped in a meeting and you
[00:07:07.020]leave and you're like, oh
[00:07:08.240]my gosh, what just happened?
[00:07:09.720]My whole day is ruined.
[00:07:11.240]But hopefully you can kind of
[00:07:13.180]use these little simple three
[00:07:15.160]simple tips and tricks to help
[00:07:17.160]you kind of regain your balance
[00:07:19.230]and and bring you back back to
[00:07:21.160]center when the road gets tough.
[00:07:23.620]So thanks so much and hope you
[00:07:25.110]guys have a great, hopefully
[00:07:26.780]not too stressful day.

The Balance Beacon: Guiding You Back to Center When the Road Gets Rough

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The Balance Beacon: Guiding You Back to Center When the Road Gets Rough

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