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Monday, July 4, 2011

Stress

I am working on my piece for Tuesday's edition of The Review Atlas and my Practical Parenting article. Yesterday's blog and the video with Seth Godin has really gotten me thinking about stress.

What stresses you out?

Godin says that stress is what happens when you simultaneously do and don't want to do something.
  • When you do want to travel but worry that planes are unsafe
  • When you want to be a parent but are afraid you'll botch your kid up
  • When you want to go on vacation but know it means you need a swimsuit

Isn't this right?
Isn't this what causes stress?

So it's got me thinking:
What if I can't eliminate stress from my life........ unless of course I'm willing to stop wanting anything..... which I don't think I'm willing to do.

I mean I want to travel.
I want write.
I want to raise kids who want to make a difference.
I want to be loved.
I want to be liked.
I want ....

All of these things take risks.
In order to travel I hafta leave,
in order to write I have to publicly publish my thoughts,
in order to be loved I have to risk giving love....

So the question becomes not: How do I eliminate stress from my life?
but
What do I really, really want to do/be/experience?



What do you think? Can stress be eliminated? Should it?