Lean into stress- it’s your superpwer

 Lean Into Stress—It’s Your Superpower


“Motivation is crap. Motivation comes and goes. When you’re driven, whatever is in front of you gets destroyed.” — David Goggins


We’ve been conditioned to think of stress as something bad—something to reduce, avoid, or manage like a dangerous substance. But what if we’ve been looking at stress all wrong? What if, instead of running from it, we embraced it?


Stress isn’t the enemy—it’s the reason we exist. Our ancestors didn’t survive by avoiding stress; they adapted because of it. Hunger was stressful, so they learned to hunt, form tribes, and eventually grow their own food. Survival itself was stressful, which forced them to innovate, collaborate, and push past limitations. Stress wasn’t an obstacle; it was fuel.


Yet today, we treat stress like a modern plague. We medicate it, run from it, and tell ourselves that a stress-free life is the ultimate goal. But think about it: when has anything truly worthwhile ever come from comfort? The truth is, stress—when used correctly—is the thing that moves us forward.


Take that thing you’ve been putting off, the task that lingers in the back of your mind, creating low-grade anxiety. The more you avoid it, the worse it feels. But the moment you lean into it, the moment you actually do the thing, you realize something incredible—you’re capable. And that feeling of accomplishment? It only happens because you pushed through stress, not because you avoided it.


The problem isn’t stress itself; it’s our perception of it. We see it as an enemy when, in reality, it’s our greatest ally. Cortisol, the so-called “stress hormone,” has gotten a bad reputation, but it’s the very thing that keeps us alert, focused, and ready to act. Without it, we’d have no drive to improve, no urgency to grow, and no reason to push ourselves beyond what’s comfortable.


Stress isn’t here to break you—it’s here to shape you. It’s the force that builds resilience, sharpens discipline, and separates those who try from those who thrive. The key isn’t to eliminate stress but to use it.


As Andrew Huberman puts it: “Stress is not bad. It’s what helps us learn, adapt, and ultimately, succeed.”


Dillon Murugan 


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