Entrepreneur Costa Rica: Becoming Unstuckable – Your Personal Business Mission.  Unstuckable may not appear in most conventional dictionaries, but nonetheless has found its place as a business-motivational buzz word.

My mission as a health coach is to help people rebalance their lifestyles in ways that are beneficial and sustainable for physical and mental health. This guidance encompasses business as well. Having an unhealthy relationship with business can create a vicious circle and interfere with our overall well being and happiness.

I commonly see people struggling with one of these two scenarios: doing what they love, or trying to love what they do.

A business can keep running
as always for 24 hours at a stretch,
but your mind cannot.

Sometimes, life can bring unfortunate circumstances into our business life, however much we love what we are doing. This can cause anxiety, discomfort and mood changes with potentially destructive consequences for our healthy routine and sense of excellence. Any situation that has this kind of effect on you mentally can be a red alert for yourself and your business.

Some tools for becoming “unstuck” in this instance, and “unstuckable” moving forward, can be helpful. This is what I recommend to clients.

Clear your mind

There are many ways to do it, depending on the symptoms. I have my favorites.

For anxiety, stress or a foggy mind, I have two primary methods.

1. One involves deep breathing. I like to suggest this 4-7-8 breathing technique that I learned from Dr. Andrew Weil. Repeat these steps three times, several times throughout the day:

• • Breathe in through your nose, counting to 4.
  • Hold your breath, counting to 7.
  • Release the air counting to 8.

2. “Take 5” is the other technique that I like. Simply take five minutes off, whatever you are doing, when you feel like it’s too much at the same time. Use those five minutes to sip a glass of water, eat a snack or make a personal phone call. This break can be enough to help take your mind off the situation that is finding you stuck.

If the situation and your anxiety persists I recommend striving for a change in your routine. It will help to add some activity that helps you eliminate or ease the stress.

For example, meditation can help you relax. You can try waking up earlier and start meditating for five minutes. Alternatively, you can start your day with exercise: yoga, running, swimming or almost any other physical activity can help you to release serotonin. As you might know, serotonin is a neurotransmitter essential for many physiological functions and feelings of well being.

What you eat also affects your mood. If you are a coffee drinker, check how many cups you are having throughout the day. Even if you think the caffeine won’t prevent you from falling asleep, high amounts can still affect your state of mind. You might also check the sugar and refined flour content in your diet, and substitute fruits and vegetables. Try to prepare your meals as much as possible at home. Eating healthier enables your body’s detoxing process to function properly. This, in turn, contributes to a clearer mind and better focus to more easily manage your work agenda.

Redo your action plan

When my clients experience symptoms other than those mentioned above, I guide them towards finding a new idea. The first step is to take some time off: 24 hours is a minimum requirement to eliminate confusing thoughts. Remember, a business can keep running as always for 24 hours at a stretch, but your mind cannot.

Also keep in mind that during those 24 hours, your body needs seven to eight hours of sleep. This is necessary both for the mind to rest and the body to recover. It would help even more if you had time to eat appropriately, and time to connect with others, as well as some spare time.

This is my way of telling you that you cannot, and should not try to, work 24 hours straight. If you feel stuck, clear your agenda for one day. After this day off, you should feel as good as new. Then you can redo your action plan — not only for your business but for yourself.

New, good ideas come when you have a good state of mind. By balancing the only 24 hours you have every day between work, diet, physical activity, relaxation and sleep, you can be more assertive with all the steps that follow