Six out of seven tasks in my current morning routine are centered on grounding in calm, connection, and strategy.

The seventh task?

It's one fiery event that stresses me the fuck out.

And I love it.

Because, integral to my morning routine is my High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout program, which is designed to put my body through hell in a way that's, like, very strategic and very, very rewarding way.

=> Heads up that you're going to get some fitness advice from a non-medical expert, but that's ok because it's not really about fitness. It's a metaphor! Know your body, talk to your doctor, all that jazz.

My favorite thing about HIIT workouts is that they create progressive stress for the body---you're always working out to your max, but your max changes with time. Which means that by default you're always doing exactly what you need to in order to develop more strength and resilience. With progressive stress (aka "progressive overload") you bring your body outside what's comfortable, make it safe to be there, and then let yourself recover. Then, once you're recovered, you do it again.

All that to say: Progressive stress is where big change happens.

When you stay in your comfort zone, your body doesn't stay the same, it slowly becomes more efficient with calorie usage and energy reserves. (Which, bless! Thanks evolution!!) On the other end of the spectrum, when you push hard past your limits, you may get change in short bursts but you'll also get more injuries and require longer periods of recovery that set back the timeline for change, which is hella discouraging for most of us.

For change to happen, strategic stress is required.

This is true for my favorite workout program—and true for my life in general.

Stress gets a bad rap. Chronic stress is the root cause of a majority of serious health issues and probably the biggest health risk we face today. But key to this omen is the "chronic" part. See, stress is not a problem in and of itself; it's a natural and necessary part of life that's integral to how we grow and change.

The problem is what we do with stress and how we treat it in our lives.

After I stress my body by working out, I drink water, eat protein, and take time to recover.

Now think about the last time you were stressed out by something at work or with your family—what did you do? Did you drink water and eat protein and take time to let your body recover before moving onto the next thing? Or did you push through or distract yourself with your phone or just tried to ignore it because "what else can you do?"?

Listen, it's not your fault: We live in a fucked up society that preys on our chronic stress to make us more beholden to work and consumerism for relief. Worse, we're taught to admire stress and busy-ness in others. Even when we know the risks, witnessing a stoic, no-frills professional who's stressed the-fuck-out with their 60+ work weeks is like watching the cool kids smoking in the parking lot. We know it's terrible for us, but there's something horrifyingly satisfying about taking on that identity for ourselves.

In many ways, we prefer the identity of chronic stress to the discomfort (read: acute stress) of divesting from busy-ness. And it's killing us.

So, while it's not your fault, I also want you to know that it doesn't have to be this way.

=> What would your world look like if you had the boldness to leave all busy work behind? If you agreed to only take on strategic stress and leave all the chronic bullshit behind?

=> What would change in your life? What would become possible in your work?

=> Most importantly, what are you waiting for?

My clients often come to me in chronic stress. This is because I work with ambitious, neurodivergent baddies who want the world for themselves and the people they love. They typically feel trapped by stress and don't realize that the only way to get to that next level in their practice or career is to let go of the identity of being a busy person or chronically stressed.

Because when you're at the brink of exhaustion and stuffed to the max with busy-work, there's no room for anything but treading water. And treading water, famously, does not move you forward.

Switch out of busy-ness is a HUGE shift that requires enormous self-trust. But the pay-off is even bigger.

My clients learn how to use strategic stress to be more expansive and resilient in their businesses and creative practices. Divesting from chronic stress is, ironically, stressful. Which means they need to learn how to practice recovery from acute stress so they can access all that resilience and resourcefulness in the face of future challenges.

What's the emotional and psychological equivalent of recovering from a stressful workout, you might ask?

Drinking water, eating protein, and downregulating your nervous system.

Nervous system regulation is a tool to recover from stress; not to negate it. This is such a nuanced but vital distinction: To recover is to integrate the stressful experience and create resilience around it. When we try to negate stress by focusing on "calming down," we're avoiding it; this usually only serves to temporarily avoid discomfort or, worse, create more stress.

The next time you feel a wave of stress give yourself space. Not distraction or task-switching or other avoidance. ACTUAL SPACE. Whatever space you need to feel what's happening in your body. Do some tapping or a full body shake or have a short dance party. Let yourself move in a way that allows you to feel through and then recover from stress, rather than just trying to move past it or push through. Don't move onto the next thing until you've let yourself tune into the sensations and emotions and felt them shift and integrate.

When you give yourself that space, your whole life starts to change. It might sounds extreme to say, but it's true. Because integrating strategic stress is key to creating broader internal safety and self-trust. From there, there's literally no challenge beyond your reach.

My clients astound themselves with how much their WHOLE LIVES change because they're willing to be bold and take on the challenge of prioritizing their creative practice in their lives.

Often the simplest path is the one that requires the most bravery. (And the most strategic support to get there.)

Where would your life be without chronic stress? And if you knew how to recover from the strategic stress of any challenge you chose to take on?

What would be in your life that isn't right now?

Don't be shy; I want to know! Hit reply and tell me :)

Love + solidarity,

Sam
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