Do you see stress as a bad thing? Most of us do. Guess what? It doesn’t have to always be bad. You can use stress to get things done, motivate yourself and feel good about reaching your goals.
I’m sure you are saying to yourself, “Hold on here, I am trying to get rid of stress, not take any more on!” While that is true of the bad stress, also known as distress, what you may need more of is the good stress, eustress. Eustress is stress that is deemed healthful or giving the feeling of fulfillment. It helps us meet our goals, take action and eliminate the bad stress. Physical exercise is a form of good stress–it is the action of working out that places some degree of stress on the body that ultimately develops and improves our lungs, heart and muscles. It releases endorphins that help elevate our moods and protect from depression.
Ok, so aside from physical exercise being eustress, watching a scary movie, riding a roller coaster, and feeling excitement at the top of a ski slope are some other examples of eustress. Athletes feel eustress prior to taking the field and speakers feel it before to giving their talk. It often helps fuel us to keep moving forward, doing just a little bit more and more until we have met our objectives.
On the flip side, most of us know and understand the negative impacts in our lives from too much bad stress such as, but not limited to:
- High blood pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Heart Disease
- Short Temper
- Coping Challenges
Recognizing where you now, as a result of destructive stress, gives you the opportunity to change what is going on in your life whether it be poor health or poor relationships.
Here are a few suggestions to try as you change how you look at the stress to reduce and eliminate the bad stress:
- Stop looking at everything as negative. It is natural to always say “I knew that was going to happen” or “Nothing works out the way it should.” Instead, think along the lines of “Everything happens for a reason, and that wasn’t meant to be right now” or “Next time it’ll work out better.” Look at what is going on in your life with a positive spin so that you can let go of negative feelings.
- Determine who is putting the bad stress on you. Often it is you who puts the stress on you! Sometimes, it is an outside force. What matters is that you see where it is coming from and then take steps to change how you are reacting so that you respond in a way that is not stressful.
- Turn your attention to the outcome. Make a plan and put deadlines on it so that you finish what you want to accomplish in a reasonable timeframe. This puts the emphasis on the outcome and the deadline is the eustress. Use the feelings of accomplishment as something that will motivate you.
- Remove the obstacles. Do you have time stress, too much to do stress, or guilt stress? Identify the obstacles and letting go or re-working them releases you to be stress-free.
Once you look at your stress differently, it’s time to put some eustress tactics into action.
- Challenge yourself daily. If you work out, try a new exercise or add weight to your routine. If you like to exercise outdoors, try a different route. If you are afraid to speak up to someone, challenge yourself to speak up for yourself.
- Stop being afraid of trying something for the first time. Afraid to ski? Find the smallest hill and stand at the top, go down it and feel the excitement—that’s good stress! Afraid to speak in front of people? Know that the feeling you will get when you’re done will be amazing and make it all worthwhile. Again, the eustress will lift and carry you forward!
- Don’t mistake your stress. Often something that feels scary really is good stress. It’s easier to just say “I’m so stressed” no matter what the circumstances because it is a habit and it feels comfortable. That stress may be what you need to accelerate your life!
- Obstacles can move you forward. Are you avoiding doing something or constantly doing something that causes you anxiety? It could be that you once you tackle and accomplish them, you can lay that pressure aside or discover that you just took one giant leap ahead.
Remember, stress does not have to be bad—as you can see, it can be good. The trick is to adopt the attitude to have more eustress and less distress. That is where the freedom lies, where the accomplishment lies and where the joy lies.
Now that you see stress differently, how will your life be better? How will you be better?