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---Transcript----When I think of a high-stress situation, I always imagine an airplane going through turbulence. We encounter the turbulence of life stress every day. There is a very intricate relationship between stress that happens in our brain and skin conditions. A number of clinical studies show that psychological stress causes and aggravates multiple skin issues. And while many people’s first reaction to a skincare issue is to use products to alleviate the problem, better management of stress targets the root of your problem, not just the symptoms. We can be more mindful of how stress affects our skin, by managing what happens in our brain.This is what today’s episode is all aboutTake acne, for example. When you are tense, your body releases stress hormones like cortisol, which is known to increase the skin's oil production, making you prone to breakouts. Also, studies show that healing of acne scars is much slower when a person is stressed. And they end up looking much more pronounced. This link between stress and the skin is also well-documented as it relates a number of other inflammatory conditions like redness, eczema, etc How do you deal with stress so it doesn’t impact you and your skin negatively? You want to manage the stress so you don’t have to manage its impact on your skin. You need that boost of oxygen throughout the day to bring you back to center. You gotta find your figurative oxygen mask in the midst of life’s turbulence. Let’s understand what stress actually is first.You are stressed when you are under pressure - mental, physical, or emotional. You experience stress when your brain perceives that the pressure exceeds your resources to deal with the situation. Psychologists call it your “adaptive power”. This triggers the release of stress hormones, which cause a number of changes in our behavior as well as in our body a skin functions. Like the excess oil production I mentioned earlier.There are 3 things I do personally, which help me perform at a high level every day  and also help prevent stress from happening. Encountering some stress is inevitable, but these methods help minimize both the cause and effect. Remember, we experience stress when our brain thinks the pressure is bigger than the resources we have to deal with it.Pressure for me comes from the goals I set for myself. If you work in a corporate setting, the goals a deadlines can be set by someone else. In either case, if the bar is really high, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. For example, two months ago decided to step up my physical fitness - I wanted to get to a certain level of strength and endurance. When I set my goals to run a certain distance, it seemed very hard to achieve. Not something I could set myself doing within a month or two.So I broke it down step by step and made a 100 day plan. The goal was follow different exercise routines every day. And all of a sudden the goal for today is just to get through this workout. Much more manageable. I am on day 56 now and I haven’t missed a workout. And day by day, I’m getting closer to my macro goal.So the first thing is to lower the pressure by breaking down your macro goals into smaller more manageable tasks. This way you don’t feel overwhelmed, and the brain doesn’t generate unnecessary stress.But breaking down your goals into tasks, doesn’t mean lowering the bar. You still want to aim high. So some pressure is inevitable.So in order not to overwhelm your brain because there aren’t enough resources to deal with the pressure, you have to expand the resources available. This is the second thing I do to improve performance and deal with stress.I hear so many people say... I don’t have time, I don’t have a certain skill, I don’t have money, I don’t have, I don’t have.And that’s because in their mind, they’re asking the wrong questions. They are applying a fixed mindset to the situation or a problem. “What do I have, and what don’t I have?” And that’s it. The situation is what it is, and if they can’t figure out a solution, so be it.When in reality, resources are never a problem, if you are resourceful. You shift the question from “Do I, or Do I not?” to “How can I get, how can I learn, how can I find, who can help me with…..?” whatever resource you need, now you are applying a growth mindset. You realize that your resources a abilities are not fixed. They are something you can learn, expand and develop. And your brain starts to process information differently - it starts noticing things around that will help you get the resources you need. This causes a shift from your brain worrying and creating stress, to your brain creating solutionsWhen originally I set my exercise goals 2 months ago, my biggest issue was I couldn’t find time to go to the gym. I was going to these gym classes, and I was adjusting my life to fit to the gym schedule.The problem was that they have only certain times available during the day. The times when I could go were 6:30am or 6:30pm. And with a 1-year old baby who’s not the best sleeper, exercising at 6:30 is sometimes very challenging, and not super productive. And 6:30pm means I have to miss dinner with the family usually. So I actually quit the gym, and started working out on my own. Now, I fit exercising into my schedule as opposed to the other way around. Sometimes I do it at 7:30 in the morning, and sometimes I do it later in the evening. So resources are never the problem, resourcefulness is. If you apply a growth mindset to it, there is always a way.And the 3rd thing I do to help me with performance and with managing stress is creating “small moments”.We've all looked at the clock and thought, where did the day go? We find ourselves mentally and physically exhausted, with no time left for ourselves. The promise, "I'll go to bed early," has become a  phrase on memes, showing someone dancing in the kitchen at 3 am. Our brains are constantly working overtime. When was the last time you actually took time to take care of yourself? There's always that intention, yet self-care can seem like an overwhelming task to many of us, especially those of us that take care of others and work full-time.Self-care is another place where if you shift your thinking just a bit, you can do a ton. It doesn't have to be about carving out hours to make a special appointment for a massage or going on a 3-hour hike in the woods. Many of us can’t spare the free time for activities like that - we have good reasons for it. And we don’t have to.Self-care can mean MAKING those small moments throughout the day, to just center your thoughts. These moments of peace cost you virtually nothing, and yet add so much to your day. Bringing you peace of mind and overall sense of well being.When I drive to work in the morning for example, I think of 3 good things that happened to me the day before, something I’m grateful for. Something that made me smile.When I’m driving back from  work, I sometimes count 50 breaths. I catch myself unintentionally slowing my breath down when I’m doing it. It’s not even mediation because I’m still paying attention to the road, but it calms down my mind from racing 100 miles an hour all day. And you can find the things that are right for you. Maybe burn a candle. Put in ear phones and listen to some music. Or do a short walk outside. And just check out your surroundings. Maybe turn off the television, or put down your phone, and put on your favorite face mask, while flipping through a magazine or reading a book. All of these simple, no-frills ideas can calm down your brain and lower stress. And there's no right or wrong way to create these moments. They all come from you, and what you want to do to recenter yourself. Taking this time is a reminder that life is more than work, to-do lists, and taking care of other people. We've been told for years and years, we need to put on our own oxygen masks first, before helping anyone else.So find your oxygen mask.I’ll end today on this thought. I hope you enjoyed listening. Please don’t forget to subscribe. And if you know someone who can benefit from this message, share it with them.See you next time.