Words to Ponder

Any engineer knows that without stress you cannot build a bridge. That is what you and I are going to learn in these pages.

So, stress, right? It’s something that all of us can relate to. What is stress, and how does it impact our lives? Most people see stress as a negative in their lives involving worry, fear, arguments, job loss, divorce, even leaving the everyday world behind. But without it we would not be motivated to awaken each morning and go through our daily routines before we head off to work, wherever that is, and do something that helps pay the bills. Maybe we wouldn’t care about all this routine behavior, and just let it all go to h…l.

Maybe not making the bed sets off another argument with someone we love, yet, why bother caring? So, no arguments in a stress-free life, right? Yet, living like this would elicit a flattened response to our environment. There would be no connection to anything. That is what bridges are built for, to connect, to cross over a major obstruction facilitating our journey forward. Without the engineer’s understanding of stress, that bridge would easily collapse. There would be a considerable delay in journeying forward, if at all.

In our relationships we can see how we respond to and create stress. Using the bridge metaphor, problems can become worse if we don’t take steps to connect with each other. We need to learn to build bridges so that connecting becomes easier and there is greater flow in our relationships, whether they are social, familial, romantic, or business related.

Stress can provide impetus to be imaginative, creative and productive. It can elevate us given the right intention. Or we can run away from it and keep hitting a wall. There is an option, a choice to be made. What to do?

In the following weeks I will present more thoughtful considerations regarding stress. Maybe together we can come up with some solutions. You won’t have to raise your hands to get attention to ask questions. Remember this: The only dumb question is the question that does not get asked.