The moment we wake up every day and until we sleep, our lives are full of activities.
The activities that we love to do, we accept more and more challenges in those
Look at any games (or video games :)), if you play or ever played.
After you have finished one level or challenge, … you want to take up the next one
..and then the next one.
Until you reach to the top level.
I used to play “Temple Run” on my smart phone a few years ago,
...and It would give me an adrenaline rush, the moment I moved from one challenge level to the next one.
I’m sure you must have taken up any such game or challenge in your life.
But let’s now look at the other way of looking at the things.
If we don’t like something, we feel that activity as a challenge (in the negative sense).
For example:
Finishing office report in time, appears to be a big challenge (sometimes going to office itself seems like a challenge).
Preparing for competitive exam appears to be a challenge- if someone is preparing for some external reasons;
What if I tell you that it’s all about how we look at the stress- as a threat or as a challenge!
Unfortunately, most people view stress as a threat — something they should avoid.
But that’s not the way high performers view stress.
All successful people who perform at a high level consider stress as a challenge;
…they don’t get threatened — rather, they feel challenged
Hans Selye, an Austrian endocrinologist who is known for critical scientific work on the effects of stress on the human body, coined the term “Eustress”.
‘Eu’, is a Greek word that means ‘good’.
So, Eustress means good or beneficial stress.
If you consider any kind of stress to be a challenge, then you expose your mind to a beneficial emotion called Eustress.
Researchers call this response a challenge response, which is characterized by viewing stress as something positive — and merely by considering it positively, it becomes a growth stimulus.
Eustress, or the challenge response, is not only motivational or inspirational advice;
..it is properly backed by neuroscience about the release of supportive brain chemicals to encourage your positive actions.
As per neuroscience, when someone shifts their beliefs and considers stress as a challenge to conquer, their mind releases more of DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone), a hormone also classified as a neurosteroid.
DHEA strengthens your brain when you face psychological challenges. The ratio of DHEA to cortisol (that you release during stress- a stress chemical) is sometimes referred to as the growth index of your stress response.
A higher growth index — meaning more DHEA relative to cortisol (a stress chemical)— is associated with thriving growth index — meaning more DHEA relative to cortisol (a stress chemical)— is associated with thriving during and after stressful experiences.
And it's proven by practical research.
There was a study conducted on swimmers by dividing them into two different groups and seeing how these two groups considered stress, i.e. as a challenge or a threat.
The results of the study showed that the non-elites viewed stress as something to avoid, ignore, and try to eliminate; they felt that stress would hurt their performance.
The elites, on the other hand, interpreted the stress and the sensations that came with it as an aid to their performance; it prepared them to get the most out of their bodies
I hope you found the above validation with the neuroscience based study useful.
Coming to the challenge I have for you today.
1] Take a paper and write down the biggest problem you are facing currently. (The first one that comes to your mind will be the biggest one.)
2] Now using the 5 why principle that we learnt in the post last week, you will try to reach the solution. (In case you didn't read that post, I'll put the link below. Do read it.)
So how many of you are ready to take up this challenge.
Write 'I am' in the comments below if you are ready!
After you solve your problem write 'Done!' in the comments.
This will bring a lot of inspiration and energy in you.
Another news I'd like to tell you is that my blog completes 2 months today!
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