1: You’ve got it all wrong.

You’ve been taught that stress is bad for you.

This belief is harmful, Kelly McGonigal argues in The Upside of Stress.

“The best way to manage stress isn’t to reduce or avoid it, but rather to rethink and even embrace it.”

The fight-or-flight survival instinct is part of your stress response.  When something major happens, your sympathetic nervous system mobilizes your entire body.… continue reading

1: What we’ve taught about stress is wrong, Kelly McGonigal argues in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.

Despite what we’ve been taught and told, the latest science shows that stress, by itself, is not harmful. However, believing stress is harmful to your health is toxic.

So, how do you transform your view of stress? Are there actions you can take when you feel overwhelmed to direct your … continue reading

1: What is the effect of showing smokers graphic warnings on cigarette packs?

When doctors are asked this question, “In general, they believe that the images will decrease smokers’ desire for a cigarette and motivate them to quit,” writes Kelly McGonigal in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.

Actually, studies show the warnings have the opposite effect.

“The most threatening images (say, a lung cancer patient dying in … continue reading

1: In 1998, thirty thousand adults in the United States were asked a series of questions about stress.

How much stress had they experienced in the past year?  Do you believe stress is harmful to your health?

“Eight years later, the researchers scoured public records to find out who among the thirty thousand participants had died,” Kelly McGonigal writes in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.

As predicted, … continue reading

1: “Shelley was speechless,” says Mike Oppedahl, the managing partner at GiANT Worldwide.

He had just introduced the 5 Gears tool, which we’ve been exploring this week in RiseWithDrew.

“Shelley is a rock star,” he says in Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram’s book The 5 Gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There is Never Enough Time.

She’s “like a cruise missile as it pertains to … continue reading

1: What do you do when the battery turns red on your phone?  You recharge it.

Yet, many people who are tired and overworked just trudge forward.

Which begs the question, “Why do you think you can force yourself to run well on empty?” Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram write in their book The 5 Gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There is Never Enough Time.

“People … continue reading

1: Each day when he’s not traveling, Kevin Deshazo, CEO of Fieldhouse Media, drives his son Gabe to and from school.

“While in transit I normally check my phone at red lights for emails and posts, trying to see what the world is up to,” he explains.

“Everything changed,” he says after learning about the 5 Gears framework.

The 5 Gears is both the title and the central metaphor … continue reading

1: “I love professional wrestling!” the man said.

Jeremie Kubicek raised his eyebrows.  “Alright then,” he thought.

“The funny part,” he writes in The 5 Gears, the book he co-authored with Steve Cockram, “was that his answer was the last thing I thought he would have said.

“If he had stated, ‘I like to collect stamps,’ that would have matched up to my expectations based on what he … continue reading

1: On July 2nd, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Britain.

The following day, July 3rd, final revisions to Thomas Jefferson’s draft of The Declaration of Independence were agreed to.

Which brings the story to the 4th of July, 1776.

“In later years the excessive summer heat of Philadelphia would frequently figure in accounts of Thursday, July 4, 1776,” David McCullough writes in his … continue reading

1: The Cleveland Clinic is a globally renowned academic medical center headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. It self-insures over 100,000 team members and their dependents,

In 2008, under the leadership of Chief Wellness Officer Dr. Mike Roizen, the clinic began working to help team members get healthier while reducing both personal and organizational medical costs. Mike, Peter Linneman, and Albert Ratner describe this journey in their book The Great … continue reading