You are Stronger than you THINK you are

Tell me if this has ever happened to you.

You're in middle school, sitting in the middle of class when suddenly the teacher asks a question that makes you jump out of your seat. It's the kind of question that makes you feel like you're about to get called on and you begin to sweat. The teacher walks by and as a rainfall of dew drops flow from your head and down your brow. She passed you by and you let out the biggest sigh of relief as she calls on another unsuspecting preteen in the class. Poor kid, but hey, at least it wasn't you.

Often times, we hate those stressful situations when they happen. I mean, who needs stress? The real answer could be shocking. We all need stress in our lives and here's why.

Stress releases the hormone Cortisol. Cortisol, although linked with its' bad nature is quite good for your heart. It controls blood sugar levels, regulates metabolism, helps reduce inflammation, and assists with memory formulation. In other words, Good For You.

I do believe that there is good stress and bad stress. Let's start with bad stress. Bad stress is when you stay in that state of stress where those levels don't come down at all. Ever hear too much of a good thing? Cortisol like everything, needs to be in moderation. If it stays on all the time, there will come a time when that fuse burns out and it starts to affect the body. On the other hand, it's good stress when handled correctly.

Like the kind of stress that was given to me by my trainer the other day. I was at health camp, where my trainer would yell at me to exercise harder. She would scream out "You can do it!" and "Give me one more". My favorite was "What could you do?" And that's where I learned a very important lesson.

During those last rounds where I wanted to give up, she would count out a time. "1 minute left!", she would yell. And that gave me the energy to go for it, for one minute. Then at that 30 second mark I would start to fade, and that voice would yell out again with a different command. "3o seconds. What could you do in 30 seconds?" And that's when it hit me like a ton of bricks. Hmm. What COULD I do in 30 seconds? And my brain started to do something I didn't think I could do in that time of stress.

I started to think that I could do one more rep, I could faster, I could stay on the treadmill longer, I could hold that cadence for 30 seconds. Before I knew it, the time was over and it was time to recover. And then it started again. "All right. Give me all you got for 1 minute!". And off I'd go, for as long as I could and again at that 30 second mark as my mind was telling my body it's time to fade into the night, she'd yell. "30 seconds. What could you do in 30 seconds?" Again I would get rejuvenated and tell myself, Do not go gentle into the night. You can fight. And fight I did.

Over that time I learned many things, but this one sticks out. You are stronger than you think you are. Your brain might tell you no, but you can also train the brain to say yes. My Cortisol levels were doing great that week and I had a very good love/hate relationship with my trainer. In the end, I knew how great it was for my body. Most importantly, I loved how great training it was for the most important organ in my body to learn.

My brain. ​

Now whenever I think about any situation, bad or good, I know I'll be able to handle with poise and maybe some grace. I also know that I'm stronger mentally than I thought I was. And that's the kind of lesson that every person should learn. So if you're reading this to the end, my message to you is ...

YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE.

Just ask your brain, it will tell you.

Cheers!

JG