…Is the wrong question. Really. In this one minute video, I talk about the misunderstanding around caffeine that the tragic death of Davis Allen Cripe in April 2017 has highlighted.
Yes, But Can We Really Control Stress?
There are 2 kinds of stress: acute stress (immediate danger: save your child from under the car; run from the tiger) and low-level (everything else: computers freezing, arguments with loved ones, rejection, money worries, weight hate etc).
We are only designed to deal with acute stress. The problem is that we use the stress response as if it were acute stress: we cannot help our brains releasing adrenaline before the big presentation or date – when all we want to feel is CALM.
So what can we do?
The answer is to challenge this evolutionary backward thinking. Why doesn’t a professional speaker feel nervous on stage? Because they have done it enough and proven to that cavewo/man within that the stress they feel is not a signal of real danger.
This, of course, is easier said than done, but you can use mind tactics like The $64,000 Question to start developing this skill.
Harriet Morris
