STRESS

STRESS

For as long as I can remember I have always considered myself to be a person who never gets too particularly stressed, anxious, or depressed. For that matter, I still do not identify with the labels, but now can understand the feeling. To that end, there are certain feelings within this spectrum of emotions which are impossible to explain to someone who has not gone through them, themselves. I have gone through them. 5 major panic attacks, where my left arm went numb and my chest seized up. Countless nights I was afflicted by bouts of stress-induced insomnia. Finally, a handful of times where I collapsed to the floor in a heap, crippled by feelings of nihilism and depression. As a result of these experiences, I feel somewhat qualified to comment on the subject.

First things first, stress is inevitable. You can only avoid it by being a lifeless schmuck. You must anticipate the signs within yourself and over time, learn to adapt. The analogy that Andy Frisella gives is akin to jumping in a cold pool. You either warm up or you get out before you start warming up. While the above statement is true and really the only thing that needs to be said here are three frameworks that have helped me to compartmentalize these feelings.

1). The Law of Relativity. I read this in a book called The Science of Getting Rich, by Bob Proctor and certain lessons have stuck with me ever since. The law states that nothing is either good or bad, it just is. We come into this world as empty vessels and have our interpretations of events injected into us by other people. Rainy Days = Bad Days. Sunny Days = Good Days. The only thing therefore that gives these two things their value is the contrast between them. The trick is that humans can control the contrast. E.g. POWs who came out of the Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam were described as saying that even their worst days were good ones because they were free. A rainy day is a good one in comparison to a category-five hurricane.

2). Will it matter? Many of the most powerful kings and emperors have had their names lost in the sands of time. Men who are the modern equivalent of the most powerful political leaders, and captains of industry rolled into one. With that in mind, thinking that this anxiety-causing point will be relevant in the next 10 years is incredibly irrational. By zooming out to a large enough time horizon, we usually come to the conclusion that it will not matter. If that is the case then why should it matter to us now? It should not. Stiff upper lip, and press on.

3). Be Honest. Honesty is more relevant to performance anxiety. Lying to someone by promising something you cannot deliver will cause you to lose sleep. That does not mean you do not persevere, but being transparent alleviates much of the ethically-related pressure. Questions like "What if they call my bluff?" "What if I cannot deliver and they report me to the BBB?" Becomes irrelevant because they know what they are signing on for. (Terms and conditions in contracts also help with this.)

To wrap this all up, if you are going through it right now, don't quit. This quote has helped me remember that nothing lasts forever, I hope it does the same for you.

"Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain."

-Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States of America