Stress.
A word with a negative connotation.
Most view it as something unwanted.
Something they don’t control.
Something imposed by external forces.
It couldn’t be further from the truth.
Stress is a great thing.
It helps us grow.
Physically.
Mentally.
Emotionally.
Intellectually.
We put ourselves in positions we’re not used to.
Ones we’re uncomfortable with.
All to achieve something that we haven’t achieved before.
What makes us uncomfortable is not the stress.
What makes us uncomfortable is the perceived lack of control.
Which is nothing more than that.
A perception.
Regardless of what happens in life.
There is one thing we always control.
Our reaction.
Regardless of our lack of control over external forces.
We always control our reaction.
Once we start to get comfortable with that idea.
Once we start to get comfortable with that reality.
We can focus on the next step: action.
Not reaction.
Action.
The more proactive we are, the more we feel in control of the situation.
Don’t let things happen to you.
Let them happen for you.
Not in a planned, calculated manner.
Remember: we don’t control others.
But in an expected manner.
Because of the wheels we have put into motion.
Feel the stress dissipate.
Perhaps you’ll start to miss it.
Desiring that stretch again.
It all starts with one belief.
Stress doesn’t happen to us.
Situations happen to (or for) us.
But stress is self-imposed.
Stress is something we control.
Stress is something we (can) use to grow.
It all depends on how we look at it.