A Healthy Dose of Stress

Working in a startup environment is fast paced and go, go go! Deadlines are short and the hours can be long. This is definitely stressful.

The term ‘stress’ has certainly gained bad press.

It’s no secret that as a species we suffer a great deal of stress and we are in desperate need for stress and anxiety reduction.

But here is the thing — stress, like any emotional and physiological response of our body, is there to serve a purpose. It’s the rule of thumb of evolution. So if we are designed to suffer from stress, is it really that bad?

An amazing TED talk by Psychologist Kelly McGonigal, gives us another perspective — she questions the bad reputation we give to stress.

In her talk, she discusses a study that took the world of Psychology by storm. This study took over 20,000 participants over the duration of eight years and concluded that our health is impacted more from our perspective of stress, than the stress itself. It’s a groundbreaking concept.

In other words, its our belief system of the impact of stress that get’s us. Viewing stress as a negative will cause it to be bad for you. Whereas, if you view stress as a motivational and positive source, then it will serve as just that. There’s more — she found that those who do hold a positive view of stress outlived those with a negative view of stress!

So do we have it all wrong? Are we just putting too much of a negative light on the idea of stress?

This is important to understand, the bottom line is this:

Short term stress is there for a reason and serves us in many ways

This study even showed how it can boost our immune system.

What most people do not realize, is that we are failing to address the issue that as humans, we are suffering from a serious bout of chronic stress.

Chronic stress is not good for us at all.

So here is how I reduce my stress working in the fast paced world of a startup:

1. Based on my understanding of what I have just discussed — I’ve made friends with stress. I choose to see it as my source of motivation.
2. I set small reachable goals on the way to my big goal.
3. I know when to ask for help.
4. I prioritize time for myself — work/life balance.
5. I workout.
6. I try to be mindful and give myself a break (both physically and emotionally).
7. There is a dog in my office — enough said!

So, don’t let the fact that you are stressed, stress you out! This feeling is simply a way for our body to kick us in gear. Use it as a motivation and let it help push you through your next sprint!

Just don’t forget to find ways to reduce and prevent it from becoming chronic. More importantly, make it your friend!