An excerpt from INC. -
With 2 Words, Keanu Reeves Taught a Powerful Lesson on How to Decrease Stress. The answer is surprisingly simple.
Expert Opinion By Kelly Main, Writer and adviser @thekellymain
 |
| Keanu Reeves. Illustration: Inc; Photo: Getty Images |
Stress is all around us, and for many of us, it is all-consuming.
Slowly, it is sapping our energy, diminishing our productivity, and, of course, eating away not just at our happiness but our very ability to be happy. With 77 percent of people in the U.S. reportedly feeling burnt out, according to Deloitte, and anxiety becoming increasingly commonplace, stress is a devil most of us know.
It's certainly one that I know too well -- despite my best efforts to pretend I don't. Sick of being stressed out, I went to the other side of the world, where I found an unexpected cure to burnout. Yet putting what I learned into practice proved no easy feat. Every which way we look, there is something going on and something to be stressed about.
There are the wars plaguing the world, upcoming elections, mass layoffs, and fears of an impending economic collapse. If that weren't enough, there are crumbling relationships, deteriorating mental health, the bills that need to be paid, and the energy you don't have to deal with it all.
At one point or another, or in one way or another, we've all been there.
While we might be hard-pressed to get everyone to agree when families still can't get along, we can all agree we would benefit from less stress. With one short quote and two powerful key words Keanu Reeves taught a masterclass on how to decrease your stress levels, and with that, increase your happiness:
"I'm at a stage in my life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right -- have fun."
"You're right" is the key word -- even if the person is, in fact, incorrect. While it might be one of the hardest things for us to say -- especially when we know we are right -- it is one of the fastest ways to decrease stress and anxiety. And it's not simply a brush-off that can quickly decrease your own stress -- it could also reduce the stress of those around you.
Effectively using this simple, two-word anxiety reducer comes down to two things that help you uncover the cost-benefit of buying into the discussion.
Water the flowers, not the weeds
In other words, the things to which we give our energy grow. And so it's key to learn how to allocate your energy appropriately so that you focus on the things you want -- not the things you don't.
No comments:
Post a Comment