Life ebbs and flows doesn’t it?
 
The proverbial roller coaster.
 
Question, are we supposed to enjoy the grueling climb upwards? Or is it the terriying free fall downwards that we’re meant to embrace? 

Or maybe that free fall isn’t so terrifying – maybe it’s exhilarating, energizing, exciting! Or that grueling climb – perhaps it’s actually the best part given the endless possibility, the thrill of anticipation, an achievable goal to work towards. 

See what we just did there? Same scenario, different perspectives.

There is a lot going on in life right now – and my default is to call it stressful. But is it? I loved this article on managing stress from Harvard Business Review, arguing that often times stress is caused not by other people or external events, but by your own reactions to them. 

“Pressure is not stress. But the former is converted to the latter when you add one ingredient: rumination, the tendency to keep rethinking past or future events, while attaching negative emotion to those thoughts.”

So how do you change your perspective? Break this stress inducing habit and stop dwelling? 

One thing this article suggests is to learn how to control your attention. Specifically- Redirect your attention to areas where you can take useful action (as opposed to obsessing over things you have no control over).

My first attempt (scribbled on a notepad during a meeting – my mind kept wandering to everything going on in life).

 I can’t control what happens with our house sale. I can control the mindset with which I approach the upcoming schedule of stuff over the next 4 months – with excitement! And I can control how much effort I put into my work – I feel less stress when I put in more effort. Sounds so simple, put in more effort!

 

Try it. It helps.
And with that…happy weekend!