Stress can be good

By Heidi Halvorson

You are stressed — by deadlines, responsibilities, your ever-increasing workload and life in general. If you are like me, you even stress about how much stress you’re feeling. This might sound a little crazy, but what if it’s the very fact that we assume stress is bad that’s actually making it so bad for us? And what if there were a way to think about stress that might make it a force for good in our lives?

Let’s take a step back. What is stress? Generally, it’s the experience or anticipation of difficulty or adversity.

Humans, like animals, have an instinctive physical response to stressors. It includes activation of the sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight”), inhibition of the parasympathetic nervous system (“rest and digest”), and the release of adrenaline and cortisol. In short, it primes the pump — we become more aroused and more focused, ready to respond physically and mentally. Sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it?

Actually, your mindset about stress may be the most important predictor of how it affects you. Of course, that doesn’t mean you aren’t juggling too many projects — each of us has limited time and energy, and people do get overworked.

But if you see the challenges you face as chances to learn and grow, rather than as your “daily grind”, then you can be happier, healthier and more effective. Maybe you don’t need less stress — you need to think about your stress a little differently.

From “How You Can Benefit from All Your Stress”