Change your relationship with stress

   I've lately come across several different resources related to stress that I believe offer valuable insight into the importance of changing our relationship with stress.
   There are two main points related to stress management that I think are important - 

1. The feeling of excitement and what we call "stress" is the same - it's the context of the situation in which we're feeling them that tells us whether we're experiencing stress or something positive. For example, if you receive a gift, and are excited about it, the feeling is the same as if you're about to give a presentation to a large group. The difference between the two situations is how we feel about the emotional experience that we're having which is driven by the context of the situation. In the gift scenario, you're more likely to associate the feelings you having with a positive experience, because, generally, receiving a gift is a positive experience. In the presentation scenario, you're more than likely to associate your feelings with something negative and say that you're feeling anxiety rather than excitement. The recommendation here is that you should look at your emotions in both situations the same way - in the presentation scenario, look at the emotions that you're feeling in a positive way. Experience them as excitement rather than anxiety. 
2. The other point I've come across is related to the above point and continues to emphasize the importance of changing your relationship with stress. Rather than viewing stress or anxiety as something negative, look at it is something that's helping you. Your emotions are trying to help prepare you for performance. If we look at this negatively, we're less likely to handle the situation well. If we look at this positively, with the idea that the emotions are trying to assist us, we'll handle the situations much better. 

There are two resources that I've recently come across that helped develop my view on this. 
- How to make stress your Friend - TED talk by Kelly McGonigal
- Learning Leader Podcast Episode - How Stress can make you better.