The Upside of Stress
Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It
Ratings11
Average rating3.5
15
Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It
Ratings11
Average rating3.5
The author of The Willpower Instinct delivers a controversial and groundbreaking new book that overturns long-held beliefs about stress.
More than forty-four percent of Americans admit to losing sleep over stress. And while most of us do everything we can to reduce it, Stanford psychologist and bestselling author Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., delivers a startling message: Stress isn’t bad. In The Upside of Stress, McGonigal highlights new research indicating that stress can, in fact, make us stronger, smarter, and happier—if we learn how to embrace it.
The Upside of Stress is the first book to bring together cutting-edge discoveries on the correlation between resilience—the human capacity for stress-related growth—and mind-set, the power of beliefs to shape reality. As she did in The Willpower Instinct, McGonigal combines science, stories, and exercises into an engaging and practical book that is both entertaining and life-changing, showing you:
how to cultivate a mind-set to embrace stress
how stress can provide focus and energy
how stress can help people connect and strengthen close relationships
why your brain is built to learn from stress, and how to increase its ability to learn from challenging experiences
McGonigal’s TED talk on the subject has already received more than 7 million views. Her message resonates with people who know they can’t eliminate the stress in their lives and want to learn to take advantage of it. The Upside of Stress is not a guide to getting rid of stress, but a guide to getting better at stress, by understanding it, embracing it, and using it.
Reviews with the most likes.
Not bad, but the concept probably could be summarized with sufficient support in a NYT article. If you're really interested, it's worth the full read, otherwise the basics are:
1) Most of what we call “stress” is not “bad” for you (unless you think it is, in which case it can kill you)
2) You can change your physiological response to stress through a mindset shift, such as framing it as excitement instead of anxiety
I thought the most interesting part was that doctors effectively took the “stress is bad” hypothesis for granted, which likely resulted in tens of thousands of (at least premature) deaths.
Don't be afraid to get that second opinion!
When I decided to go back to uni full-time and work part-time I realised that I need to be able to handle stress. I remember Kelly McGonigal's TED talk and decided to give this book a go, and I'm glad I did. Even though I've known on some that stress that was good for self growth, reading this book helped me reframe the narrative of stares in my mind. I've noticed that I'm the happiest when I'm a little stressed and now I know it's because when I'm stressed is when I have something to care about. My work and study stress has given me a purpose and it's only going to make me resilient and stronger.
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