Stress and Growth
- Mar 3, 2016
- 2 min read
How many times have you heard if you are comfortable, then you are not growing? All stress is not created equal and yes, stress can be positive or negative depending upon our reponse to it. What is important to acknowledge and remember is that negativity is a choice. Stress or the problem is not the problem at all; the problem is when you fall victim to focusing on the problem instead of working on a solution.
Growth is not an automatic process, if you are going to get better you have to be and live intentionally. In the case of this lobster growth scenario, we see that the lobster has to own the uncomfortble feeling of that tight shell which makes him respond. The lobster has to be intentional when it looks for its hiding place where it can go shed the old shell and grow another one. If it does not shed the shell, it will be uncomfortable and suffer, will not grow, and face possible death.
Another analogy for stress and growth is how we build our muscles. It takes physical stress for your muscles to grow. When you lift weights and exercise, you are literally stretching and tearing your muscles as this is how the body responds by filling in those torn areas with new muscle which causes the growth. Stress is not a bad thing and in both scenarios we see it can actually helps us improve ourselves.
What both of the scenarios teach us is that we have to be intentional with the choices we make and that we have to stay focused on a solution. In most cases, people only complain about things they CAN change. You have to give up all your excuses and become solutions oriented and this is where real growth will occur. Being uncomfortable feels weird and strange, but note there is freedom in being strange. Evict your ego and get uncomfortable and go chase your dreams. Society and the marketing techniques brainwash us to want what everyone else has, but I challenge you to look at this statistic. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 6.03% of individuals make over 100K per year. Do you see this percentage??? This is a minority and the word minority has been given a negative connotation. I challenge you to embrace stres, your inner weirdo, and being a minorty so that you can turn your dreams into a reality. Change the way you respond to stress and you will experience a year of great personal growth in 2016.
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