Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff they don’t teach you in design school, but should

9. The Stress Bucket

I am sitting in Starbucks on Madison Avenue in New York City. The “Stress Bucket” chapter has been on my list of things to write for over a year. Ultimately, it took some experiences here in New York to inject the final inspiration into this task. There are cars everywhere and people swarming the streets like ants. Many of the New Yorkers handle the stress of living in the big city with apparent ease. But a few times per day I’ll pass people who have just “lost it.” One guy in particular was shouting expletives at his wife that he’d “had it.” He was “done.” I was not sure what led up to his explosion, but it was obvious that his stress bucket was full.

You see, everyone has a stress bucket. As you go through your day, your ...