04/08/2026
Modern culture glorifies and encourages us to avoid stress and it’s keeping us weak and adolescent.
That’s right, I said it.
What if I told you that stress isn’t always bad for you? In fact, a life without stress is, for the mind, equivalent to a life without exercise for the muscles.
Yes, chronic stress increases cortisol which accelerates physical aging and increases inflammation. However, low dosages of stress is not only healthy for you, it’s necessary in order to enhance cognitive function, neuroplasticity and cellular resilience.
This “positive stress” is referred to as EUSTRESS.
Hypoarousal (not enough stress) leads to low-energy and boredom; while Hyperarousal can cause fight-or-flight anxiety, panic or even rage.
Eustress (positive stress) hits that sweet spot in our nervous system.
And you don’t have to ask for it to come into your life. Life will faithfully bring you challenges to keep your neurons firing, problem-solving, and navigating.
But how do we keep high stress and cortisol levels in check?
We’ve all experienced both sides of the spectrum. You’ve felt unchallenged and low energy, seeking out new challenges, and you’ve experienced talking yourself off a figurative ledge when stress is incredibly high.
Here are 5 things that I’ve learned to do to help me manage stress. Hopefully you’ll find these to be helpful…
1 Expect & Embrace Challenges.
Stop telling yourself that stress is inherently bad and something to avoid. Don’t let little inconveniences exasperate you. Habitually avoiding the hard is for the weak. Successful individuals know the benefit of challenging oneself. Success can only come from “controlled shredding,.”
2 Reframe Negatives Into A Positive
When inconveniences come your way, do a mental reframe. Missed your exit on the freeway? Instead of spending minutes upset about it, think, “There may be a reason for it.”
Maybe a disaster was diverted.
You never know.
3 Reflect On Challenges
Instead of wishing it never happened, learn how to avoid a sticky situation in the future. Relationships deepen moving through challenges. Relationships aren’t just to enjoy one another, but to help you discover what you need to work on, to grow into a better version of you.
4 Stop Carrying Self-Limiting Beliefs
“I’m set in my ways.”
“I’m stubborn, I can’t help it.”
“I hate change.”
Instead, decide to make a small improvement in yourself each day.
That’s 365 small self-improvements a year, where does take you? Who will you become?
5 Stop Habitual Venting
Venting is helpful every once in a while, but when it’s chronic, it’s a crutch to blame an outside force.
Doing these things will help keep your cortisol levels in check, decrease inflammation and MMP activity, slowimg
down the breakdown of collagen .
Because here’s a truth:
NEGATIVITY NEVER RESULTS IN JOY.
So the next time you miss your connecting flight (like I just did), tell yourself there’s a reason for it.
You just may have needed that sit down time by yourself at the airport to put your thoughts down into a helpful post.
Cheers from Seattle💗
