TED Talk Kelly McGonical sharing is stress good for our health

Stress Is Good For Your Health

By Mark Collard
Experiential Trainer, Author & Speaker

Is stress good for our health? This is a question I have often pondered.

To explore this question further, take 14 minutes out of your day, and watch Kelly McGonigal’s TED Talk about the positive impacts of re-framing stress in our lives.

I think Kelly’s message, and the new science she shares, should strike a chord for any educator who invites individuals and groups to undertake a challenge, to step outside their comfort zones, so to speak.

If we can re-frame the stress which arises from an adventurous experience as a response which prepares our bodies for the challenge, rather than something to be avoided, significant and wholesale transformation is certainly within everyone’s reach.

This new research reminds me of the powerful paradigm BE – DO – HAVE. That is, who I choose to be will dictate the actions I take (the doing), and as a consequence, I will earn the results (the having) I get.

All results emanate from the choice of who you are BE-ing in the moment. For example, in the face of a stressful situation, you can choose to be scared, or you can choose to be courageous. Each path will produce a different outcome. Now choose.

And, within the realm of education, isn’t choice one of the most powerful tools we employ as teachers, group facilitators and corporate trainers?

What do you think?

Original post March 2014, last updated February 2020.

By Mark Collard - Experiential Trainer, Author & Speaker

Comments (1)

jerrod murr March 6, 2014

Great article and video! I totally agree with you Mark. Choice is our ultimate tool. We don’t need to remove stress. We need to choose to reframe it. Good stuff as always.