Stress Isn't the Problem-How We Use It Is

Posted on March 03, 2025 by Cory Deighan, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Ever notice how stress has a funny way of sneaking up on you?
One moment, you’re cruising through your day, feeling productive and in control. The next, your inbox explodes, tension spreads through your body, and suddenly, everything feels like too much. Stress can hijack the body and mind before we even realize it.
But what if stress isn’t the villain we paint it out to be? What if, instead of fighting against it, you learned to use it to your advantage?

Stress Isn’t the Enemy—How We Label It Is
Most of us have been conditioned to treat stress as the enemy. For some, it’s more than just an enemy—it’s a sign of weakness or failure. The natural goal, then, becomes to eliminate stress by any means necessary—beat it, suppress it, or numb it.
But what if stress wasn’t something to fight against? What if the biggest issue stems from how we label it?
Your body’s stress response is neutral—it’s just energy until your brain decides what to do with it.
We often view stress as either:
- A threat: overwhelming, paralyzing, something to escape.
- A challenge: expanding, strengthening, something to learn from.
Same stressor. Different outcomes. The way we label stress shapes how we experience it. If we see it as a threat, the body tightens, thinking narrows, and we naturally brace for impact. But, if we see it as a challenge, we open up—becoming sharper, stronger, and more resilient.
And here’s the good news: while stress is often uncontrollable, our perspective is always within control.

Awareness Holds the Key to Shifting Your Perspective
If you’ve worked with me or read my work, you can probably guess where this is going: awareness is the foundation for transforming your relationship with stress. Once you recognize when and how stress manifests in your life, you regain the upper hand over how it affects you.
Awareness isn’t just the cliché first step—it’s the moment you realize that stress isn’t in control. You are.
Instead of getting swept away in the rush of stress and thrust into automaticity, you have the power to pause, lean in, and choose your response. With a mindful approach, stress can become an efficient fuel moving you forward instead of a wildfire that needs to be put out.

A Three-Step System to Work with Your Stress
I. Identify Your Stress Triggers
The first step is to simply notice. Stress often builds gradually, but we don’t always see it coming. Is it a certain situation, person, or thought that sets you off? Become an investigator of your stress. The more you spot your triggers, the better equipped you’ll be to catch stress early and keep it from snowballing.

II. Interrupt the Cycle
Like most things within our internal landscapes, stress thrives on momentum. Once it starts, it can feel like you’re stuck in a loop. The key is to break the cycle with an intentional reset—whether it’s a deep breath, a shift in perspective, or even stepping away for 60 seconds. This action should stand as your real-life reset button.

III. Choose Your Response
Stress is a natural reaction, but how you respond is a choice. Leaning into awareness clears new pathways, allowing you to branch out into new routes instead of blindly following the same old automatic routine. After you interrupt the cycle, ask yourself: “What would help me move forward in a balanced way right now?” This could mean taking efficient action, reframing the situation, or allowing yourself space and grace to process. Trust yourself. You are now in your rightful position: the driver’s seat.

The Bottom Line: Awareness Turns Stress into Strength
Stress is an inevitable part of life, but it doesn’t have to be debilitating.
How much would your life change if you built the habit of leaning into it with curiosity instead of resisting stress? What if it became something to harness instead of stress being something to battle?
When you commit to developing awareness, you’ll start to view stress as something you can leverage. We shouldn’t look to eliminate stress from our lives—we should work on shifting perspectives to respond with clarity and conviction instead of fear and overwhelm.

Stress isn’t the fire; it’s the fuel. How you use it is up to you.