Stress

What is stress and how do we deal with it?

Let’s first look at the origin of the word stress. This is from Dictionay.com

[Middle English stresse, hardship, partly from destresse (from Old French; see distress) and partly from Old French estrece, narrowness, oppression (from Vulgar Latin *strictia, from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere, to draw tight; see strait).]

I always like to know what words the ancients used, because the ancients used words that were more descriptive, more physical, and more connected to what was going on.

The ancients didn’t mess around with frilly language.

The first thing about stress then is to understand what it is.

Stress represents a narrowing, a drawing tight of something.

But of what precisely?

My definition and experience of stress is that it represents a tightening or compression of time where the past and the future are condensed into the present.

Under stress the past and the future do not exist.

Only the present exists.

Under stress all perspective of the past and future is lost.

Under stress we don’t use past experience as a rational guide to handle the present problem.

Under stress we don’t take into consideration the enormous time potential of the future in making measured decisions.

Under stress we think that everything has to be decided right here and now.

A good example of this is purchasing a car at the dealership.

When we are young and inexperienced our car salesman tells us that he will only give us this great deal until today at 5 o’clock. And then it will be gone.

That puts stress upon us.

The past and future condense.

We tense up.

We put a deadline on our lives.

We fool ourselves into thinking that the decision has to be made right then and there.

We disregard past experience which suggests that deadlines aren’t really deadlines at all.

We disregard the time potential of the future which is more infinite.

The solution: Ease the tension by purposefully saying fuck you to the arbitrary deadline set by the salesman.

Let the deadline pass.

Walk away from it.

Fuck it.

In so doing we allow the past and the future to expand.

We ease the tension.

We give ourself time to think about past experiences when we have been too hasty. And we open up the enormous time potential of the future.

We begin to think of other options.

Sincerely,

Archer Crosley

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