Our experiences in life define our outlook and understanding of certain phenomena. On the other hand, there are others who may have experienced a lot before us and so we can learn from their experience.
People who have accomplished a certain status in life; reached that point after a fair share of struggles and learnings. Their perspective of things can help to reshape our perspective. Let’s see what some famous people have to say about stress.
Where does stress come from?
The truth is that stress doesn’t come from your boss, your kids, your spouse, traffic jams, health challenges, or other circumstances. It comes from your thoughts about your circumstances.
Andrew Bernstein
Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.
Kahlil Gibran
Not being in the present moment and not accepting the reality
Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there’
Eckhart Tolle
Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is. The only problem in your life is your mind’s resistance to life as it unfolds.
Dan Millman
Stress is simply the adaptation of our bodies and minds to change.
Peter G. Hanson, M.D.
Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future, and not enough presence.
Eckhart Tolle
What these quotes reflect is the fact that stress is a mixture of emotions that arise when we tend to let other things take charge of our mind, be it the people in our surroundings or the thought of the future that has yet to come to pass.
Now that we have established a basic understanding of what stress is and how it arises, let’s learn a little more on how to perceive and react to it.
How to perceive Stress?
It’s the perception of stress that decides the extent of harm caused to our mind and body. However, perceiving stress as an opportunity can change one’s outlook on life.
Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle.
Bill Phillips
Times of stress are also times that are signals for growth, and if we use adversity properly, we can grow through adversity.
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski
90% of what you’re stressing about right now won’t even matter a year from now. Take a deep breath.
Mel Robbins
How to control our reaction to stress?
It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it.
Hans Selye
As Selye suggests, it is our reaction to stress that kills us, a lot many people of wisdom have the same to say. So how do we react to stress? Let’s see.
Monitor our thoughts
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
William James
In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and hearts to be assured that our questions are as important as our answers
Fred Rogers
If the problem can be solved, why worry? If the problem cannot be solved, worrying will do you no good.
Buddha
Take a pause
If you feel “burnout” setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself.
Dalai Lama
Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace.
Joan Borysenko
When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If not, then let it go.
Catherine Pulsifer
See what you can change and take action
We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.
Dolly Parton
Getting stress out of your life takes more than prayer alone. You must take action to make changes and stop doing whatever is causing the stress. You can learn to calm down in the way you handle things.
Joyce Meyer
When we commit to action, to actually doing something rather than feeling trapped by events, the stress in our life becomes manageable.
Greg Anderson
Let go
When you have done all that you could, learn to trust the process and yourself and let it go.
Give your stress wings and let it fly away.
Terri Guillemets
Sometimes when you feel stressed, all you really need is a reminder that you’re about to walk through a tunnel and that the light is just around the corner. I hope you learnt something new about stress and found these quotes useful to read.
As a reminder, we have other articles that talk about stress at work, burnout and how to deal with it.
