Using Stress as Your Friend
I'm getting into a much better rhythm with this course work and pre-trip anxiety. I feel it fueling me to do my absolute best on this class to make sure I don't screw up when I fly half way across the world to do a job I have zero experience with. The stress before this trip reminds me of a TED Talk I watched months ago that claims stress can be our friend. Goes against everything we've learned about stress and anxiety in our lives right? We've always been told stress will lead to a plethora of health problems and potentially kill us prematurely. Kelly McGonigal tells us in her video to use the cues we get from feeling stressed out (pounding heart, breathing faster) and view them as helpful, as preparing our body to face the challenge before us. She explains most of the premature deaths and ailments caused by stressed are actually caused by the belief that stress is bad for you. When you change your mind about stress, you can change your body's reaction to stress.
It's a really spectacular thing to reframe your understanding of stress in the moments it hits you, and it's not as easy as it sounds. I'm trying my best to use all the energy swirling inside me that is trying to send up red flags as my body prepping for this once in a life time adventure. It's also incredibly cathartic to write it all out. So maybe this can be a little piece of information to help anyone feeling stressed out, and use it as your friend.
Check out the video:
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