James Laughlin suggests reframing stress by asking yourself: is this a tragedy or just an inconvenience? He walks through everyday examples like a dented car or missed meeting, then points out that most stressors you worried about never happened or you handled them fine anyway.
Next time you're stressed, James, ask yourself, is it a tragedy or an inconvenience? It's almost never a tragedy. I banged the car, I missed the meeting, the dog ate my homework or the project report. And then you breathe a sigh of relief. And if that's not persuasive, recognize think about the last few times you were stressed and ask yourself, did any of those things actually ever happen? They almost never happen. And if it did happen, somehow, given that we're talking about it today, you were able to deal with it. So stress is far more manageable than most people assume.
