Episode 137: The Inner and Outer Game of Stress

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We live in incredibly stressful times, and it’s common for our clients to talk to us about the impact of stress on their lives. In today’s conversation, we explore a listener question about how much stress is enough stress, how we distinguish between ‘regular’ stress and toxic stress, and how much we’re responsible for our own experience of stress.

Is stress itself a negative experience? Or are there times that pressure we might experience at work is not a burden, at least not all the time? Are we looking for a stress-free life? The Dude from the Big Lebowski, for example, may live a stress-free life, but he also lacks a sense of real accomplishment or achievement: Not a lifestyle most of us would long for, right?

Some stress can inspire us, motivate us, and even help us to enter a flow state at work and beyond. So, when we recognize that stress is not inherently problematic, we can take time to reflect on the nature of the stress we’re feeling and decide how we want to navigate it both internally and externally.

This is a conversation about boundaries, self-care, self-trust and asking for help when we need it.

We also offer tools like metaphors and reflection questions to use in your own way of transforming how you experience work and life pressures each day.

In Our Conversation Today, We’re Exploring:

• How to discern whether the source of our stress is internal or external

• The tools and approaches we can use to create a better relationship with stress

• How metaphor can help us to unpack our stressful experiences and gain clarity in the process

• What the big Lebowski can teach us about positive experiences of stress

Resources:

• The Flow Model, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

• Irene Lyon, Nervous System Healing

• Languishing:

  • https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/well/mind/covid-mental-health-languishing.html

  • https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-languish-how-to-flourish

  • https://www.verywellmind.com/languishing-is-the-mood-of-2021-5180999

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