Point #1 – Stress is our faithful, unwanted, companion – Most everybody I meet, in the business world at least, carries around stress. Deadlines, clients, money, goals, and way too much to get done. It ranges from some baseline amount that is simply ever present, to almost overwhelming.

Point #2 – Stress is a necessary motivator – This fairly common belief is seriously messed up! Picture an office full of workers carrying around little cattle prods. Every now and then they feel the need for a strong shot to keep themselves going. Zap!!! Better get back to the grindstone. Stress is NOT a motivator we should want in our lives. Period. Stress is a losing proposition.

Point #3 – Stress is a requirement – It just goes with the territory. Wrong again. Stress is 100% in our heads. Whatever is going on out there is “what is”. How we feel about it, that is all choice.

Point #4 – Stress is because we judge it so – Bingo. Now, we are getting somewhere. We can, inside of ourselves, call the particular circumstances wrong, too much, scary, unfair, or about 100 other things. We can judge them wrong by comparing our internal rules against the external conditions. That is how we create stress.

Point #5 – Stress can be fixed by fixing the world – This is a fallacy. We believe we can fix what is out there, and we won’t feel stressed anymore. That can work – a little, for a while. But, we cannot control external conditions. At some point, the external will always run contrary to our internal rules. Stress and other upset will always result when the external and the internal don’t match.
Point #6 – Stress can be denied – True. What if we just get rid of those internal rules? What if we create our own reality through our own thoughts? We may evaluate a thing as not to our liking. We decide what action to take about the external event or circumstances. But, at the internal level, we don’t judge it as wrong. We accept the external as simply what is. There is no internal rule that says we need to be stressed or upset.
Point #7 - Stress is a choice of mental reaction – Yes, it is. We are free to choose to have it or not. Stress is eliminated through our mental re-programming. The new alternative programming says “My reaction to the problem is the problem. I accept any and all external circumstances. They simply are what is.”
Again, we don’t have to like those external circumstances. We still have to decide on what courses of action to take. We just do it without the judgement of wrongness against our internal rules. The only difference is how we feel while going through it. We make better decisions and create better results from a place of peace and clarity, rather than one filled with stress and upset. But, only 100% of the time!
Point #8 – Stress stands in the way of the good stuff – I suppose everyone can decide if they agree, disagree, and/ or are open to learning more. Here is what I know.

“From a place within that is void of stress and other negative emotions, we will always make better decisions and create better results. More money. More life. Everything good.”

Consider the thought that stress is needed to motivate. What might happen if we take that negative motivation away? How about finding things that are so exciting, fulfilling, and right-feeling, in and of themselves, that no continuous cattle prod is required? A rich notion indeed!

Point #9 – Stress feels bad – Well, of course. A few people will try to argue against that point. That it is stimulating, motivating, whatever. Sorry, but that is pretty much bullshit. There is not one good thing about stress.

Point #10 – Stress is a choice – Yes, it is. Why would anybody choose to find their way into any sort of negative feelings on a regular basis? Why would anyone choose to live with stress?

Answer: They don’t realize they can eliminate stress. They can do that without changing anything externally, but they don’t know how.

(Of course, they can make different external choices as well. But, that’s another discussion.)

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