The Grasshopper popped in in the middle of me doing a crossword puzzle and had this to say: “Stress is a reaction to reality.”

Stress may be a noun in the English language, but it’s not a thing. It’s an action. More pointedly, it’s a conditioned reaction.

The number of people who say, “my stress” believe it’s a thing. Stress is not a thing waiting to attack you. It’s a reaction to a stimulus that you have conditioned or has been conditioned into you.

But this is more than a treatise on semantics; it’s an invitation to look at reality.

Stress doesn’t exist. It’s a made up word to describe our reaction to what’s happening around us. “I’m so stressed out by the pandemic” needs to be translated into, “My reaction to the pandemic is to feel lousy.”

When you recognize stress is a reaction, then you realize you have a choice: to respond differently. When you make stress a thing, it’s as lame as saying, “I had no choice. The devil made me do it.”

We use stress as an excuse not to take any action. When you make it a thing, you give it power and permission to immobilize you.

Begin to look at stress in a new light: a reaction to reality rather than a response. A reaction has you “re-act” the same way again and again. A response is a conscious choice that heads you in a new direction.

Stress, like anger and depression, is not a thing. It’s a conditioned reaction to a stimulus.

Think of it this way: A reaction chooses you; you choose a response.

When you throw in the clutch (that means when you offer yourself a choice), you can switch gears from a reaction to a response. Responding is a proven way to drive away from stress.

All the best,

John

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