51 - Managing Things Outside Your Control

Stress on your muscles makes them bigger. That's why you work out. So why do we resist stress emotionally? Isn't that our opportunity to strengthen our resolve? In this week's Coach's Corner, Coach Nick and I discuss the difference between the "automatic" way we assign meaning to the events that occur to us vs. the act of being "intentional" about the meaning we assign. Like Nick says, "if we're not intentional about the meaning we're giving things, we will tend to give it meaning that's not helpful to us". We know that growth comes from uncomfortable situations. So when things happen to us that are outside our control, what's the best way to manage them? How do we become proficient at being more intentional with the meaning we assign things outside of our control? Like martial arts, using energy against your opponent can do wonders for you. Much like using the energy of an errant punch can leverage your counter-attack against an opponent, the same is true for managing stressful situations. As you sit here today (hopefully with no stress), we can infer that you've overcome every stressful situation in your life. When we are experiencing stress, it feels like the stress will never go away - that it's here to stay forever. That's not true! We always get on the other side of it... and we are always stronger for it having gone through it. So isn't it time to embrace stress? To enjoy that it's here? To stop resisting it? This is a simple secret of the successful... they understand this principle. They practice it every day. The most successful people in the world have stress. The difference is in how they handle it. If you want to accelerate your success more quickly, start managing your stress differently. Happy stressing! ~ Coach Josh