Wise Decisions

Chapter 13The Inner Voice and Managing Stress

The story most of us tell ourselves around stress needs some serious updating because all of the statements listed below are capable of seriously compromising our ability to make wise and responsible decisions. Have any of these messages gotten through to your inner command center?

• Stress is harmful.
• Stress is to be avoided at all costs.
• Stress undermines your health and happiness.
• A happy and fulfilling life is a stress‐free life.
• Stress undermines your immune system.
• An important goal in life is to reduce stress as much as possible.

The research world on stress has contributed a plethora of important new biological facts that Y.O.D.A. must incorporate into advising your inner voice regarding stress management and decision‐making. Here are some important stress understandings that Y.O.D.A. can reference during the most challenging storms of our lives:

• The fact is that stress exposure is the stimulus for all growth in our lives. The hormones released during a stressful event are the hormones of life. Adrenaline, cortisol, DHEA, and the like prepare the body to respond to the stressor by increasing energy production, suppressing some biological functions, and stimulating brain growth. Without stress, all growth ceases.
  • There is a culprit in the story of stress, however, and that culprit is insufficient recovery. Recovery is healing, restoration, and renewal. Without recovery, all stress eventually becomes excessive. Stress exposure ...