Where does stress really come from?

Stress is real, but there’s a common misconception in how it works, and the consequences of that are disastrous…

“This book is a masterful guide to rethinking the so-called stressors in your life. I’ve never read a more useful book about managing stress — I’ve made it required reading for some of the people who matter most to me.” – Adam Grant

I wrote a book that teaches people a surprisingly different way to understand stress. It starts with the story of Hans Selye, the father of the modern stress concept, and how he made a fundamental mistake.

Stress doesn’t come from what’s going on in your life. It comes from your thoughts about what’s going on in your life.

So the antidote to stress isn’t relaxation or breathing. It’s re-thinking.

That may sound obvious, but look around you at all the anger, frustration, and conflict people are feeling.

Not only do we believe that these emotions are produced by the world around us — we believe that without it, we would become passive.

Actually, the opposite is true. When people learn to think clearly, our anger turns to humility and compassion, and we become much better agents of change — in our relationships, in our families, and in our organizations.

I created a 7-step process, called Active Insight, that makes this much easier to achieve. This approach helps you go beyond stress management to change how you think, breaking the stress cycle at its roots.

In the book, I show you how to do it.

And I share stories of real people applying this to real challenges — from relationships to weight loss to divorce, discrimination, workplace issues, and more — as you go through these 7 steps with them and experience insight for yourself.

FYI, the book was originally titled The Myth of Stress when it came out in hardcover. The paperback was retitled Breaking the Stress Cycle. They’re the same book, with a new title, a new preface, and a few small edits. I read the audiobook version myself.

If you want to live with less stress, take a look. And if you’ve already read it and found it helpful, please share a review so others might find it too. I appreciate it.