Yeah Right, I hear you say… How can Stress get the best out of me?
Wouldn’t it be more like ‘gets the best of me‘?
It depends on your perspective doesn’t it, and if we are looking at stress with ‘glass half empty’ or ‘glass half full’ glasses.
Let me explain.
Stress is a common human response.
We all have a brain with the mechanics and hormones which are set up as stress receptors. When we are born, we have a fear or falling or of loud noises, and after this, we learn many other fears. Our reptilian brain is designed to protect us. There are mechanisms within the brain that nature has provided us with to help assess imminent danger and get us to respond appropriately.
Nature has installed in us the capacity to protect ourselves if there is danger or imminent harm to move us with adrenaline when we need to move quickly from pain or enthusiastically towards pleasure.
The stress or the worry of harm gets our blood boiling and steam rising from our ears.
Too much stress, however, may clog our neural pathways and stop the processing, causing us confusion, frustration or depression. It can block our sensitivities and our spirituality and can reduce our scale of happiness. You get the picture because that is the image of stress that we usually conjure.
Stress can also work to our advantage
When more than usual needs to be done, stress can give us a kick in the pants to work harder or faster, studying for exams, meeting deadlines, and plan smarter to achieve more in every day, every hour and every minute.
But think about it for a moment, 
it’s only the stress if there is some fear attached to it, and this is where it gets beautifully connective to our soul. Take time to look at the reason for our stress, and I don’t mean the superficial or obvious reason for our stress.
Stress doesn’t need to be our enemy or the monster looming when our calendar gets filled up.
Clarity
If we care to find any clarity or meaning in the purpose of stress, then we will have magical results. In this short article, it is impossible to list all the advantages of stress or the deep meanings behind it, or the fears that lead us to act ‘stressed out’.
Stress is normal. Stress is a factor in humanity. It is a tool. It is an indicator that there is something not congruent in our body, in our mind, in our lifestyle, in our relationships, in our home, or even about our health.
Try Something Different
Here’s an exercise to try, which is best done when you can sit in a stress-free environment and be ready to answer some truly deep questions to yourself.
Take some quiet time to find just one thing that stresses you a lot.
Notice within yourself if you tense up or get angry.
Write it down. It may be when people blame you for something, or if they are late without letting you know, or always expect you to pay for outings. Keep writing if you feel inclined.
Next to this write all the reasons why that stresses you. Keep writing the reasons until you find what you fear may happen if you don’t get this ‘sometime’. Consider what things you are not achieving or what is being taken away from you.
Now, acknowledge that the true cause of your stress is a fear or loss of some kind, and that your psyche is going into overtime trying to avoid this outcome. It is actually something deep in your soul that is wanting expression. It’s a way for your deep spiritual body to communicate with the conscious mind. What an amazing gift we have, every day, to communicate to our core.
What we do with this information should be honoured in a safe and compassionate way.
So why would I say that stress can bring out the best?
Because if we take the time to listen to our ‘deep within’, we will learn more about ourselves and find the truth and expression that is longing to be heard, and we can help others on their spiritual paths too.
