Stress Can Be GOOD

Our modern world is chock-full of stressors. From tiny irritants to major life changes, it is impossible to live on this earth without encountering stress. In general, we think of stress as something negative, something to be avoided whenever possible. But stress can actually improve our lives.

A life without stress would be worse than just boring. We need stress in order to get stronger. Stress challenges our bodies and minds in ways that force us to grow and adapt. Without stress, we would become soft and weak!

Every time you workout, you offer your body--muscles, joints, bones--a challenge. The stress of the workout actually damages your body--creates tiny micro-tears in your muscle fibers, irritates your joints with friction, jars your bones--and forces your body to make repairs. The repairs are what make you stronger: muscles get bigger, joints get more stable, bones get denser. Without stress, your muscles, joints, and bones will not remain the same; they will WEAKEN with disuse. This is where we get the phrase, "Use it or LOSE it!"

Cardio-vascular stress actually makes your heart and lungs stronger. Every time you raise your heart rate, you place stress on your heart. The bigger the challenge--the faster you run or bike or swim--the bigger the adaptation your heart will make in order to rise to this challenge. Sprinting--an all-out effort for your heart, lungs, muscles, joints, and bones--creates an extremely powerful stress that will have long-lasting effects on your entire body. (Of course, you need to be healthy and fit enough to take on this kind of stress, or you could end up injured.)

And stress doesn't just make us stronger physically.

Stress is absolutely necessary for us to grow emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, and spiritually. Confronting and adapting to all different kinds of real-world stress--from taking exams to interviewing for jobs to caring for a sick loved one--will make us dig down deep into our well of energy, confidence, and compassion. When we discover how much we can handle, we grow in all of these areas.

The next time you encounter a setback or a challenge, take a deep breath and tackle it head-on. Use the opportunity to develop new skills or hone those you already possess. Try to keep in mind: this stress is making you STRONGER!