Stress is defined as “mental or emotional strain resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.” We’ve all felt it, but where does stress come from?
Stress comes from the future, but not in the Marty McFly way.
Humans are unique in our capacity to predict what might happen next. We rely on our amazing ability to anticipate the future better than any other animal, and this ability is a feature of our unusual intelligence.
Unlike other animals, which (as far as we know) react solely to what’s going on in their environment, humans can imagine entire realities in our heads. These alternate realities make us act in all sorts of strange ways. For instance, while zebras will run from the sound of a lion in the brush, humans will stampede at the start of a Black Friday sale, imagining the deals we’ll miss if we don’t elbow our way through.
While imagining the future motivates us to pursue what we want, it also comes with a cost. All that thinking about what might happen next is stressful.
Does that mean humans are doomed to lives of constant stress? Does our ability to imagine many futures mean we’re destined to feel the constant emotional strain?
Not necessarily.
You’ve no doubt heard the story of Viktor Frankl, the inspiring psychiatrist who survived imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust. He observed firsthand the profound difference between his fellow prisoners who lost hope—and soon died—compared with those who found a purpose. Focusing on that purpose allowed them to take back some measure of psychological control. The difference was literally life and death.
What if I told you that same powerful difference in focus and mindset is impacting you right now?
You’re about to learn how to create a real-life forcefield against the stress you face every day.
Viktor Frankl knew something science would later verify: perception can mediate the effects of stress. In other words, two people faced with the same stressful situation can have very different physical and emotional reactions. How does that happen? To answer that question, let’s look at some fascinating research about the power of feeling in control.
Stress for Success?
In his book, The Power of Full Engagement, peak performance coach Jim Loehr recommends oscillating back and forth between pushing hard and relaxing. Observing both athletes and executives, Loehr noticed that we engage more fully in our work if we push hard for periods of time and then pull back toward rest and recovery.
An athlete who knows there’s a short break around the corner can push harder during periods of extreme exertion. And if you think about this in the context of your own life, it probably makes sense. It’s easy to push hard for the last two days of work before a vacation or even the last hour of a typical workday. That’s because you know you’re about to get a break.
When you intentionally push yourself outside of your comfort zone and schedule periods of rest and recuperation, something interesting happens—your capacity to endure stress increases. It’s as if you’ve created a new set point for what feels normal.
For example, an entrepreneur who feels constantly pressed for time during her nine-hour workday might experiment with doing a 14-hour workday once per week for three weeks. Each of these long workdays is followed by a shortened workday of only six hours. Then she recovers, taking it easy the next day. In this case, she is stretching her sense of what’s possible by working longer than what feels comfortable.
The effect is less stress. Can you guess why? She has expanded her sense of what’s possible. She feels in control of the stressor (time pressure to get things done) because she knows that she can put in a few long workdays to get caught up if the worst comes to worst. Things no longer feel out of control.
Achieve More with Less Stress
You don’t have to choose between a healthy life and a life of full engagement with high, hard goals. You can have both.
The way to have both is to take control of the stress you put on yourself. By proactively seeking stress informs that further your goals, you can change your set point for overwhelming feelings. Doing so will eliminate the feeling that stress is happening to you. It’s instead something chosen by you. You’re taking control of stress before it takes control of you.
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