Most of us have spent years treating stress like something to fix, avoid, or push through as fast as possible. But what if we told ourselves a different story about stress? Viewed it more as an enhancement to take on life’s challenges.
Stress shows up in your body for a reason. When your autonomic nervous system senses a stressor or a triggering event, your heart rate climbs, your breathing shifts, and the amygdala (fight/flight response) fires up, ready for action. That’s your body saying I see what’s in front of you, and I’m getting us ready. And that’s a good thing!
Stanford Psychologist Dr. Kelly McGonigal found in her research that stress is most harmful when we believe it’s harmful. But people who saw their stress response as helpful and enhancing actually fared better, mentally and physically.
Dr. Alia Crum at Stanford built on this with a simple but powerful approach: See it, own it, use it. Notice the stress instead of suppressing it. Acknowledge what it’s showing up for – because stress almost always appears around something that matters to you. Then use that. Let it sharpen your focus rather than scatter it. With practice (and it will take practice), this could change your relationship with stress for the better. So next time you notice your stress, instead of suppressing, take agency:
See it: Notice the physical sensations of your stress response and label it as a moment. I am experiencing butterflies in my stomach right now. My heart rate is increasing in this moment.
Own it: Pause and ask – What is my stress preparing me for? Why does this matter so much to me?
Use it: Once you’ve identified what’s at stake and why it matters to you, let your stress enhance your next move. My stress is better preparing me for ________________.
Science tells us the story we tell ourselves about stress impacts how we respond. Flipping the script on stress can change the story of how you move through the inevitable challenges of life.
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Yvette “Evie” Trapani is a certified Mindful Performance Enhancement, Awareness & Knowledge (mPEAK) coach and founder/owner of Mindful Evie. Her offerings include science-backed mindfulness workshops – tailored for both community and corporate needs, the UCSD mPEAK course to help people increase and improve their performance and achieve their goals, and one-to-one mindful performance coaching to empower people to let go of the “noise”, manage stress, and rediscover joy in the everyday.
She is passionate about the transformational power of mindfulness, fostering community, and restoring joy and whimsy into everyday life. In addition to the mPEAK Certification, she holds a certificate in Equine Facilitated Learning, and Organizational Mindful Facilitation. Learn more at www.mindfulevie.org.
