Mano Minute (3/6): The thing I got wrong about stress for years 😀


Mano Minute (3/6): The thing I got wrong about stress for years 😀

Stress has a bad reputation.

There are two very different kinds of stress.

Acute stress is short term, intense, and purposeful. A hard workout. A cold shower. A difficult conversation you finally have. Your body responds, adapts, and comes out stronger. That is what acute stress does. It builds you.

Chronic stress is the opposite. It is low grade, persistent, and unresolved. Social pressure. Financial pressure. A job that drains you daily. Poor sleep stacking up week after week. Your body stays in a state of alert with no recovery window.

Chronic stress does not build us, it breaks us down.

Let's use going to the gym as a great example.

The acute stress is the discomfort of a hard set. That is the signal. Recovery afterward is where the adaptation happens.

The chronic stress is knowing you need to get healthier, but yet continuing pushing it off. It's a roller coaster of thoughts. But it’s a constant stress on the body.

The same is true in life. Challenge is not the enemy. Unrelenting pressure with no solution is.

TIP: This week, notice where your stress is coming from. Is it acute and purposeful, something that is making you stronger? Or is it chronic and draining, something that needs to be addressed or reduced? That distinction matters more than most people realize.

Mano Minute

A 1-minute, Monday-Friday email, to help busy professionals move more, eat better, and think clearer.

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