Thing 9, Learn from Listening

Learn from listening TED Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend.html For the last 10 years, Psychologist Kelly McGonigal believed that stress was bad for the health of people and needed to be eliminated. However, now, after following a 30 year research, she is convinced that our health depends on how our belief system about stress. If we change our negative beliefs about stress and concentrate on positive beliefs when our circumstances are not going well, we can eliminate the harmful effects that stress can have on our bodies. When we see our pounding heart and increased breathing as healthy and enabling, we are empowering ourselves to handle that life throws our way. So “stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case.” Can changing our thinking about stress make us healthier? Yes, our beliefs determine our health outcome. We can also benefit by seeking help and helping others in times of stress. Studies have shown that there are benefits for our health, happiness and personal success when we help others. "Caring creates resilience.” Caring people showed no negative health effects from stress, all harm was eliminated when people connected socially with others.