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Sunday, February 7, 2010

Stress Now Not Later


By: Dana Krals

My husband and I were talking about how he's taking on a new project and it's causing him some anxiety. He's getting outside his comfort zone. It's a good thing! This is the only way each of us can know we're growing for the better, rather than sliding back in our personal growth. Getting a healthy dose of self induced anxiety and stress every once in a while will ensure you are on a path of success.

My view is that there is no getting away from discomfort. It's part of life. Not in a pessimistic kind of way, but in a hey, it's going to be there so let's make the best of it kind of way. The perfect example is that when you eat whatever you want, and give in immediately to any sort of short term gratification, over the long term, even that will cause you discomfort! Somehow, in the form of excess weight or health issues, 'being comfortable' turned out to be uncomfortable. On the other hand, if you manage your diet a little and deny yourself every now and then (just a little pain) you'll experience good health and experience the body weight you want. Both a little painful, but one requires the pain upfront with long term gains, the other allows instant gratification but creates long term pain.

On the one hand, it's great to do whatever you want. The other side of the coin is to be pro-active about your discomfort, as my husband is doing. Yes, you're pushing yourself into unknown territory. Yes, it's dark and scary, but you'll earn long term gratification.

In the 1960s Standford University's Michael Mischel did a study with 4 year olds and marshmallows. The child could have 1 marshmallow now or wait 20 minutes and have 2 marshmallows. 14 years later the children that could wait fared better on SAT scores, showed more resilience and self motivation. The 1 marshmallow children were worse off.

In this case it's not even so much delaying gratification, but taking on a little bit of anxiety and stress for the sake of a payout later on. Giving in to the moment and feeling the anxiety and stress later that comes with a life of little restraint will create even more negativity. I don't want my husband to take on so much that he's always stressed, but today I'm proud of him for taking on a manageable amount.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Dana Krals, MSW is a Life Coach. She is also Co-Owner of a Media Company that Creates Life Optimization Tools for Helping People Help Themselves.
Visit http://personal-life-coach.com/blog/ and learn more.

1 comment:

  1. I like this "part there is no getting away from discomfort. It's part of life. Not in a pessimistic kind of way, but in a hey, it's going to be there so let's make the best of it kind of way."
    Thank you for this article,it's truly helpful.I am in the process of learning new things and unlearning old stuff. This article has helped me deal with my discomfort.

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