Did you know there are two kinds of stress? There's positive stress and there's negative stress. An example of positive stress is when something's just a little bit outside your comfort zone, but you think you can handle it.💙

You think you can deal with it. Maybe you want to talk to that girl who's just been chatting to you and you think something's likely to happen. That's a bit outside your comfort zone, but you think you can give it a go.💙

Negative stress is when something's outside our comfort zone and we don't think we can deal with it. So maybe talking to that same girl is something that gives you anxiety and you feel you can't handle it.💙

That's a sign of negative stress. But the interesting thing is that the stress is the same. It's our perception of how we feel about ourselves and whether we can cope with it or not that determines whether it's a positive stress or a negative stress.💙

And it makes sense when you think that the word for negative stress is distress. You're in distress. You think you can't handle whatever's happening to you. So if for some things, you can change how you feel about it and instead of feeling anxious and overwhelmed, think, "well, maybe I'll give it a go".💙

Maybe I can cope with that. Then you change that stressor from a negative stressor to a positive stressor. And that's how we grow through exposure to these positive stressors. And expanding the boundaries of the growth zone where we feel a bit uncomfortable, but we think we can handle it and "we go for it".💙