Is it possible to eliminate stress?

Without stress we wouldn’t have survived as a species up to now. Positive stress helps us to thrive, perform well, be creative and productive and adds anticipation and excitement to our lives.

The quick stress response also helps us to survive threats to our lives, such as avoiding an accident by reacting fast, or running away from an attacker, or protecting our children. We all thrive under a certain amount of stress. Deadlines, competitions, confrontations, and even our frustrations and sorrows add experience, depth and enrichment to our lives and help us to grow and evolve as human beings.

Our goal is not to eliminate stress, but to learn how to manage it and how to use it to help us. Too little stress acts as a depressant and may leave us feeling bored, dejected or useless. Excessive stress on the other hand, may leave us feeling exhausted and anxious. We need to find the balance of an optimal level of stress that will individually motivate but not overwhelm us.