4 Ways for Tech Leaders to Ditch the Stress

Leading a tech firm brings a lot of excitement. With their innovative spirit, tech startups represent a quintessential part of American culture: creativity, freedom, boundlessness, and new frontiers. The industry vanguard enjoys the spoils of this enviable life.

But there's a steep cost to pursuing this dream. The lore of programmers toiling through the night, of entrepreneurs sleeping in vans, of cutthroat competition for audiences with venture capitalists has its basis in an all-too-common reality. And once startups make it, they can easily become victims of their own success. Because businesses depend on technology, clients expect support 24/7 from tech providers.

Burnout, then, has become an occupational hazard industry leaders must grapple with. Mental health issues run rampant. One study found that entrepreneurs were twice as likely to suffer from depression, twice as likely to be hospitalized for psychological disorders, and three times as likely to struggle with substance abuse.

It's unlikely the profession will get less demanding, so attention has turned to healthy ways tech entrepreneurs can manage their stress. Fortunately, a number of all-natural remedies offer relief to leaders feeling the crunch.

Helming a tech firm can feel a lot like playing for a professional sports team. You're highly visible, even exposed. Your performance is constantly evaluated. Every misstep is judged. The stakes remain high, expectations unrealistic. That takes its toll.

It comes as little surprise that entrepreneurs are following in the footsteps of prominent athletes like LeBron James and Derek Jeter, who practice meditation.

Performance, after all, is as much about mental clarity as it's about athletic ability or business acumen. To be our best self, we need to be fully present. We have to be aware of our pain, yet able to filter out the distractions our mind creates around it. When we focus ourselves, we free ourselves to do our best.

Meditation goes a long way toward controlling the stress that overtakes so many young entrepreneurs. Maybe that's why it's trending in Silicon Valley and beyond. In any case, it's a powerful relaxant that should be in any leader's arsenal of self-care techniques.

Lodged in the stipulations of the 2018 Farm Bill was a provision that has provided much-needed stress reduction for millions of Americans.

For years, the federal government had strictly regulated commerce in cannabinoid derivatives, classing the non-psychoactive hemp plant together with its mind-altering cousin, marijuana. The Farm bill relaxed those restrictions, permitting cultivators to sell cannabinoid products, including oils, as long as THC concentrations (the psychoactive component) measured 0.3% or lower.

Large constituencies across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief as they flocked to vendors selling CBD. The benefits of CBD range from stress reduction to healthier sleep. Regular use of it can help mental clarity and long-term preservation of nervous system function. And, despite worries, it's nonaddictive.

Reducing anxiety is a must for stressed-out tech leaders. CBD may provide an integral part of the cure for that condition.

In Japanese, it's an anomalous, yet revelatory, phrase: shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing."

What that strange, yet captivating, term captures is the therapy of being in nature. A growing contingent of "forest bathers" are recognizing how calming connecting to the world around them can be. The health benefits of this practice - particularly for urbanites - have become hard to ignore.

Few professions stand so in need of this therapeutic practice as that of the tech world; few occupations differ so starkly from immersion in nature. Sitting in office buildings, staring into kaleidoscopes of flashing pixels, working under near-constant pressure, the magnates of this industry might as well be living on another planet.

Taking time to unplug from this mediated, overstimulated environment and enjoy the tranquil pleasures of being alive to the natural world offers leaders a chance to unburden themselves - even if only for a little while.

Forest bathing provides a welcome contrast to the tensions of tech life, but what if you don't live close to parks where you can escape? By midcentury, two-thirds of us will be residing in densely populated urban centers. Getting out into nature will take greater effort than many busy entrepreneurs have time for.

It turns out that even taking a brisk walk brings significant stress relief. Working a daily walk into your everyday schedule releases endorphins, clears the mind, allows time for reflection, and shapes your mood.

This isn't exactly a new practice. Famous walkers in the past included everyone from Aristotle to Steve Jobs. They all found value in long rambles offsite to regain focus and perspective. Maybe you will, too.

For leaders in the tech industry, stress abounds. Managing this pressure takes discipline, concentration, and presence of mind. Not surprisingly, entrepreneurs are turning to proven natural remedies for this omnipresent scourge. From CBD to forest bathing, a little can go a long way. And that's a relief for the hard-working denizens of tech boardrooms.

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