A state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation – this is the definition of stress written in the website of World Health Organization (WHO). We are in 2023 and if I ask what is stress then I believe most of the people can say it. Even if someone can’t say in the form of a nice definition, they can help you to get the sense. This is unfortunately very common nowadays. Most of the people are stressed either for themselves or for the environment they live in.
Stress is really a feeling that can destroy your happiness and mindfulness. But at the same time, being stressed is very natural for a human. It’s natural that during exams, interviews or meeting a new person can be stressful for us. The reason for being stressed in this type of case is the outcome is uncertain. So, no one wishes to be stressed. But the twist is that a minimum level of stress is needed for our personal growth!
When we are assigned to a job or responsibility, we will enjoy the job if it is within our capability. But how long? 1 year max! After that if the job is the same and it doesn’t give you any new challenges, you will get bored with it. On the other hand, if a job is too challenging for you, you will be demotivated within a few days or months. So, to keep you motivated the job can’t be so difficult considering your ability or skill, also it can’t be so easy! The job has to be moderately challenging which will keep you motivated and whenever you will reach the next level the difficulty needs to be one step ahead as well.
In a study, it was found that a human can manage an activity with a difficulty of 4% more than his ability. This type of job will always keep you motivated. As an example, think of building yourself as an endurance runner. The first day you can’t target to run 3-4 hours! That’s not practical. You have to build your strength step by step. And to build your strength step by step you have to reach a bigger target everyday than the previous day. Maybe you can start with a 5 min jog, then next week you can target to finish with a 10 min jog. After 5 min if you target 1 hour next week, you will be demotivated at the end of the day. Also, if you don’t push yourself to reach 10 min in next week, then you will be in 5 min even after 1 year. Because the rate of your progress is zero! Now, it’s clear that for our development, setting a bigger target everyday than our capability is important. When you set a bigger target everyday, it will make you stressed. Because everyday you have to surpass your yesterday and need to reach a new capability.
So, how to ensure personal development without a minimum stress? Is there any other better way? Minimum level of stress works like a magnet, pulling you forward. But keep in mind that this stress has to be at a minimum level. Being too much stressed will make you demotivated and also can lead you in some serious health difficulties.