My drive home from work is, on average, 35 minutes. Some days I’m feeling great, other days I’m feeling pretty darned stressed out. No matter how I’m feeling, one of my strategies for overall health and performance is to walk through my front door and greet my wife and two young girls in a manner that makes them, and myself, feel loved and appreciated. If I’m stressed and need to talk about it, I’ll tap into a “stress-is-enhancing” mindset, which I use to redirect stored stress energy to achieve goals that align with my values. The "stress-is-enhancing" mindset, developed by Dr. Alia Crum, involves viewing stress not as a purely negative experience but as an opportunity for growth, learning, and improved performance. This mindset does not mean that stress is inherently good, rather it recognises the potential for the challenges and adversity associated with stress to lead to beneficial outcomes in cognition, health, performance, and wellbeing. It involves acknowledging stress, welcoming it as an indicator of something we care about, and using the stress response to achieve our goals. The mindset operates through several pathways: 1. It changes our motivation when faced with stress, prompting us not to avoid stress but to leverage it for positive results. 2. It can impact our affect around stress, allowing for more positive experiences, even during stress. 3. It might even influence physiology, leading to a more moderate cortisol response and increased levels of DHEA (the hormone that modulates endothelial function, reducing inflammation, improves blood flow, cellular immunity, physical strength) in response to stress. Alia Crum and Andrew Huberman have outlined a stepped process to adopt this mindset: 1. Acknowledge Your Stress: Recognise and own your stress. Being mindful of it is the first step toward transformation. Understand that stress signifies something important to you, which can drive you to improve or succeed. 2. Welcome the Stress: Instead of resisting it, understand that stress often reflects your values, cares, or passions.