Stress Helps You Understand What Matters Most to You
We spend a lot of time and effort trying to overcome stress. It is helpful to acknowledge your stress first. Recognizing this can also help you understand what is most important to you.
We’ve already told you that stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This can really be helpful for you. As says Stanford psychologist and researcher Kelly McGonigal , in his speech at TED about stress :
The way you think and act can change the way you experience stress. When you choose to view your stress response as beneficial, you create a biology of courage. And when you choose to interact with others in a stressful situation, you can build resilience.
In fact, coping with stress requires learning to control it, not just getting rid of it. Research supports this. In an article in the Harvard Business Review, Stanford’s Alia Krum and author Thomas Krum discuss their research in which people who thought stress was “better” had a better cortisol response and were more likely to ask for feedback. Here’s what they recommend to do to deal with stress:
The key to “owning” our stress is realizing that we tend to worry more and more about the things that matter to us. Stress shows us that we care; that rates matter. This realization releases positive motivation, because deep down we know that important things don’t always have to come easy.
This is helpful when it comes to setting long-term goals and deciding where to focus your energies. Of course, not all stressors will be important; sometimes you get a little stressed about having to wait for a red light. But if you find that, for example, you are often under a lot of stress about your family, you may conclude that a healthy relationship with them is important to you.
This gives you a better understanding of where to focus your efforts and priorities. It also helps turn stress into something more productive: a goal.
Krum and Krum offer additional actionable tips for harnessing the power of stress in the original article linked below.