One subject which I wish I had in school was Latin. You might guess that my fave classes in school were lunch, recess, and gym(physical education). Back to Latin and its word origin of S T R E S S; “drawn tight.”
You, like all of us, have felt like the drawn string of a bow, possibly ready to snap for a bazillion reasons from big hassles, or a$#holes, things you can’t control, or from a buildup of little speedbumps in our lives.
Drawing tight is a very good reaction if you rush to pick up a grandkid from a spill or to avert an accident. That’s short-term EUSTRESS. What none of us want to do is to be a chronically “drawn tight” boomer, suffering from long-term, cortisol generating, life-shortening D I S T R E S S. Which wheel of fortune [below] is working for you, OR against your livelihood and you – EUSTRESS (upper left) or DISTRESS (lower right)?
A simple yet hard to follow mantra is cited in my upcoming book – KaBoomer: Thriving and Striving into your 90s –
“It’s not S T R E S S that kills you, it IS your reaction to it.” attributed to Hans Selye.
Take a mindful breath, and invest a few minutes to review more insightful quotes about S T R E S S. I’ll never write like Samuel Clemens, yet his nom de plume is credited with this relevant thought,
““I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” ― Mark Twain.
Ship actually happens as we used to say in America’s Navy. Yet how you cope, perhaps HOW you embrace the SUCK, may well determine what does or doesn’t kill you.
I’d rather die crossing the finish line of a hard crew race than from chronic, life -sapped S T R E S S. That’s me… How about you?
As Bobby McFerrin offered, “Don’t worry . . . be happy.” Ha Ha Ha and look at me.
Not easy for most, yet DON’T STRESS over small stuff. Most of life is about small stuff.
Be well,
df (your happy Koach)
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