Hi, I'm Trina Winans, Director of Education and Outreach at Senior Services and a member of the Midland Area Wellbeing Coalition. Today, I want to talk about Life Hack # 39, Challenge Over Threat.
I use this Life Hack to help manage my stress. Whenever I notice my body having a stress response for me, I feel my back tighten up and my heart races. I know it's time to reframe my thinking about whatever is causing that stress.
By reminding myself of the stress and pausing to reframe it, telling myself it's a challenge, I can tackle the situation more effectively rather than feeling overwhelmed. This reframing helps me avoid speaking out of anger, which can damage relationships and allows me to look at the situation more openly and problem-solve better.
For those thinking about trying this life hack, start by paying attention to how you notice stress in your body or mind. Once you catch yourself feeling stressed, challenge yourself to view the situation as a challenge rather than a threat. Ask yourself if you're really in danger—likely, you're not being chased by lions!—and remind yourself that you've survived every challenge before, so you can survive this one too. This helps to lower your blood pressure and look at the situation more holistically to figure out what to do next.
