If you think overcoming your own stress and looking after your own wellness is about you then you’ve missed the point... We're going to unpack the stress advantage for you in this article because...

– As blunt as that sounds – here’s the thing…

We live in a world full of incredible human beings, full of so much potential and the capacity to do so much good in the world.

BUT,

The reality is many are suffering.

Many are consumed by their own stresses - mental, physical and emotional challenges. They’re not even close to fulfilling their potential or influencing positive change in the world. Too many are standing in their own way or are lacking access to the support they need.

According to WHO as of 2020, “close to one billion people globally have a mental health disorder and those with severe mental health disorders tend to die 10-20 years earlier that the general population.

Suicide is claiming the lives of close to 800 000 people every year – 1 every 40 seconds – and is the leading cause of death for young people around the world aged 15-29 years.“ (Ref 1*)

We aren’t designed to suffer. We have everything we need to end it now.

Part of the problem is that we’ve become so accustomed to our immediate reality that we lose sight of the bigger picture.

It’s too easy to be consumed by our own every-day stress that we end up thinking about our own lives and live in our own bubble.

For most, the bubble is stressful as there’s so many spinning plates. Everyday there’s a new demand from work, family, friends… and we’re doing our best to keep everything spinning.

The trouble is...

Globally we aren’t coping with the stress life brings as effectively as we could be.

We’re failing to look beyond our individual circumstance to be able to positively impact the world around us.

More often than not, we’re too busy wishing for:

• Success both personally and professionally
• Someone to make us feel seen, heard and worthy
• A meaningful life with purpose
• Feelings other than guilt, fear and emptiness
• More time, money and energy
• Better health
• More stability financially and in relationships

And then getting frustrated because we’re:

• Full of self-doubt and beliefs of inadequacy
• Procrastinating and lacking momentum when things aren’t going well
• Struggling to enjoy success and lacking satisfaction
• Avoiding failure at all costs
• Suffering in our relationships because nothings ever good enough or we want more
• Exhausted from taking too much on and people pleasing

The problem is we spend our time and energy consumed by all these things and we wait for them to be perfect before we start to consciously show up with the intention to make a positive difference in the world.

Not because we don’t care but because it’s just not within our awareness.

In truth, most people want to have an impact but they feel stuck in the chaos of their lives and not sure where to begin.

They want to think bigger, they want to leave a legacy but often they feel like they can’t do so because work is taking up too much time or the family responsibilities are stressing them out.

Before we know it, these stressors add up over time and the pressure builds inside, leading to mental health disorders, chronic pain and emotional instability.

Needless to say, when we hold on to stress it stops us from being as resourceful and as peaceful as we could.

This means potential isn’t fulfilled and the capacity we all have to be a force for good in the world becomes limited.

Some people don’t know that letting go of unhealthy stress is even possible.

Yet others know they can be healthy and happier but they struggle to take the action to do anything about it.

This is because our decisions are based on pleasure or pain.

And we believe that when we choose to finally let go of our ‘pain orientated’ way of living we can channel our energy into something meaningful and pleasurable.

When we let go of unhealthy stress and leverage our wellness it allows us to push past our internal and external stressors. We then create time, capacity and confidence to tackle meaningful goals and issues in the world, big or small.

It’s happened for our clients, it happened for us and it’s happened with well-known personalities too…

Take Elon Musk for example...

He’s on mission to colonize Mars and save the human race! He would never have got to where he is now if he’d carried the stress of his failures and did the inner work needed to overcome deep depression. He’s focused on a big meaningful goal and is helping to globally push the world forwards.

A lot of people think that famous people are ‘special’. But they are human, just like us, they experience the same challenges as everyone else. They face naysayers who fail to see their vision, the lack of belief from others, they go through divorce and experience loss.

At every turn we have to decide how we deal with these stressors. We can choose to allow the stress to add up and eventually end up worse than when we started. Or we can choose to let go.

That’s what Elon Musk did, he moved past it and let it go. He figured it out how to release unhealthy emotions and built his confidence back up. He did the inner work to be able to stay on his path to even more greatness…He is living proof of the stress advantage.

Tony Robbins, the personal development legend, is another great example of using the stress advantage as a force for good. He started off in poverty, spent time living on the streets hungry.

Now he’s doing incredible work aligned with the mission to end poverty and hunger in the world.

Did he feel good when he was living on the streets, hungry? I doubt it. Was he oozing confidence and self-belief? Of course, it wavered.

His circumstances weren’t his fault but he sure did take responsibility for it and changed his life -and changed the lives of others.

Now he helps individuals across the world because he knows the impact and ripple effect people have when they unleash the power within. They let go of unhealthy stress and ignite their vitality. Many go on to support causes they believe in and succeed greatly.

One more example is Oprah. She had to face many different challenges too, from sexual trauma and racial abuse. She learned to let it go and do the inner work necessary to be able to positively influence lives today. Now she’s a philanthropist and superstar tv-host using the stress advantage to help others.

They’ve proved that they aren’t just celebrities and billionaires.

They are individuals from humble beginnings – they started like most people, having experienced turbulence in one way or another.

The difference is, they believed that life can be better than suffering, stress and trauma.

They started small, one act at a time to serve something bigger than themselves and contribute to people and causes in need.

And once they were able to let go of their unhealthy stress, they could do this on a grand scale which inspires many of us today.

The beauty is, YOU can do this too.

You can choose to say goodbye to stressors that’ve been holding you back. This could be past emotional traumas, limiting beliefs or even chronic pain.

No matter what it is, you can move past it and focus your attention towards what really matters to you.

Underneath the stress, there is a laser-focused, relentless and results driven attitude just waiting to be leveraged.

You can exceed your own expectations and those of others AT THE SAME TIME as feeling fulfilled, like you’re making a difference.

Start by reflecting on where your stress could be holding you back? If there is anywhere in life where you’re lacking satisfaction, that’d be a good place to start.

Set the bar high and ENJOY the journey.

Ask yourself:

If you were stress-free, what would you put your time and energy into?

What milestone could you aim for right now?

Perhaps is rethinking how your business can make a bigger impact? Maybe it’s teaching your kids how to love equally?

For some of you it could be doing a good deed for a neighbor or donating time or money to a cause you believe in.

Here at Wellness Theory we know that...

Less time struggling creates the capacity for people to deliver more value to the world.

In addition to helping people live healthy, meaningful lives, we aim to inspire more individuals to support the UN Global Goals through giving and innovation.

Our vision is for individuals to recognise that when they are healthy and well they can positively impact the world which is why we’ve partnered with B1G1.

For every person who has the courage to step up and let go of their unhealthy stress, we donate to causes in line with the 2030 agenda. So not only do the incredible clients find their peace, we are also contributing to global issues too.

We don’t share this to impress you, but instead to impress upon you that we wouldn’t be able to do this if we were consumed by stress and playing small in the world.

Maybe you’re thinking…

“But how can I do anything, I’m just one person?! It’s overwhelming and don’t know where to start”

We get it, how on earth can we think about changing the world when some days it’s a struggle to even get out of bed??

Or perhaps you’ve got enough plates spinning in life, and now I’m asking you to do more??

That’s how we used to think

But we’re not asking you to do more, if anything we’re asking you to do less.

All we’re suggesting is that you become less consumed with your everyday stress, learn to process it in a healthy way and then the positive impact you have will take care if itself.

We’re asking you to stop neglecting your wellbeing because we don’t want you to burn out and become a statistic we mentioned earlier.

Everyone matters and everyone counts.

We choose to dig deep into stress relief and leveraging wellness, not because it’s easy but because it’s necessary for the evolution of the human race.

When we leverage the stress advantage, we get to deep the benefits of being well. 

Our community and our clients prove over and over again:

Over the coming weeks we’ll be sharing more insights and ways that’ll support you to move from stress-full to stress-free, so stay tuned.

We challenge you to move past where you are today.

Step back from what’s going on in your life right now, what’s the legacy you want to leave behind?

There’s so much more goodness within you, but you can only give it when you move away from stress and move into wellness.

It’s time to let go of any unresolved emotions, clean up your thinking, become energized and go after (and get) what you want in life, as well as help the greater good at the same time.

Consider this:

Until next time,

Be Well, Mean Well, Make a Difference that Lasts,

Love Charlotte and Jonathan