How to Make Stress Your Allied to Handle Life Challenges

I just watched a very interesting TED talk by Psychologist Kelly McGonigal which I think I must share with you all right away. It gives the answer to the question "How to make stress your allied to handle life challenges?" Basically what Kelly says is that our beliefs about stress can change the way our bodies respond to stress so instead of seeing stress as something harmful we can view it as a positive mechanism from our bodies to prepare us to handle a challenge.

"When you choose to view your stress response as helpful you create the biology of courage, and when you choose to connect with others under stress you can create resilience." - Kelly McGonigal -

Kelly's talk is not only an eye-opener but it is also profound and inspiring so I can strongly recommend you to take a fifteen minutes brake to watch it.

"Stress give us access to our hearts, the compassionate heart that finds joy and meaning in connecting with others and yes, your pounding physical heart working so hard to give your strength and energy. And when you choose to view stress in this way you are not just getting better at stress, you are actually making a pretty profound statement, you are saying that you can trust yourself to handle life challenges and you remember that you don't have to face them alone."

By the end of the TED talk Chris Anderson (TED's curator) asks Kelly "If someone is making a life style choice between say a stressful job and a none stressful job, does it matter which way they go? Is it equally wise to go for the stressful job as long as you belief you can handle it?" Kelly replied "Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort, so I would say that's really the best way to make decisions, is go after what it is that creates meaning in your life and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows"

Kelly McGonigal and Chris Anderson

I found this TED talk thanks to Anna Lishman who shared it in her blog "Make stress your friend. Get a hug :)". Thanks Anna for sharing!

If you enjoyed watching Kelly McGonigal TED talk and if you are interesting in exploring more about the power of beliefs then I can recommend you to watch Bruce Lipton lecture that I shared some time ago: No, our lives are not control by our genes but by our beliefs. It can change your life.