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Do you need to be stressed? – Nerdful Mind #120

May 1, 2022 by Simon Mannes

“I have ambitious goals. I need to be stressed.”

Is that true?

This is a thought I often had in my early twenties. That the constant feeling of stress I had was my drive, without which I could have never done all the things I accomplished at that time.

I carried this feeling of stress with me for years until a question came to my mind.

“Is this sustainable?”

Stress comes with anxiety and worry. All three suck time from my days and energy from my mind.

I realized I hadn't made a good deal.

Of course, stress can spur us on to high performance. But it should never be a permanent condition in order to accomplish what we do every day.

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” — Marcus Aurelius

Reading Recommendations

Enlightenment is Knowing That No One Does Anything

“My point is, how do you know what you are looking for is real? Real in phenomenal life. How do you know it is not an illusion?”

How Does Stress Affect the Brain | What is Stress

“Chronic stress doesn’t just lead to impaired cognitive function. It can also lead to other significant problems, such as increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Other systems of the body stop working properly too, including the digestive, excretory and reproductive structures. Toxic stress can impair the body’s immune system and exacerbate any already existing illnesses.”

3 Things to Look Out for When Stress Testing Your API

“When you have an API, and you want to guarantee its performance, running a stress test is a valuable technique to determine the existing system's boundaries. In this article, I'm sharing three things that you should pay special attention to when stress testing your API: the test environment, traffic patterns, and the test conditions.”

Weekly Mindfulness Practice

Practice this exercise a few times, then use it when your mind is racing:

Take a deep breath. Then ask yourself: “Do I need to think about this right now?”

Often you’ll find out whatever your mind was racing about is not important at this very moment. Write that topic down, then continue with whatever you were doing before.

Another question that works: “Is this important right now?”

End Note

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Have a great week

Simon

PS: What do you think about this? Please hit reply and let me know. I’m curious!