Stress kills and before it does, it makes your life totally miserable.

We need to take a deep breath – or maybe a few days of deep breaths before we respond to “bad” things. We have to remember that everything (good or bad) is temporary (this, too, shall pass).

We also need to remember that “nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so” (Shakespeare).

Yes I tell you this all the time. Why do I keep doing it? Because our training and experience tends to lead our thinking in the other direction – “oh my what am I going to to? What is going to happen? etc.” That is our nature.

2025 showed me that getting upset and harried my something was a waste of energy.

Vol state was a disaster for me. I dwelled on that. Then along came the journey run over Labor Day. Boom, I fractured my clavicle and vol state was no longer a big deal.

Learning how to operate with one hand/arm (and my non-dominant one at that) became the focus of my attention.

Then came medical issues that were more significant than my busted collarbone. That healed and I was then focused on the medical stuff and it was about 3 different medical things.

Then my 6 day race over the holidays where my tendon kept me from doing all that I wanted to. I forgot the other things.

Vol state? Oh yeah I remember something about that but it seems as if it was an eternity ago.

And of course on top of all this is the mess in our country right now.

Perspective I’d say is key.

Fortunately as the months passed in 2025 I experienced the reality of “this too shall pass” so choosing to just deal with what is happening without the emotional baggage is so much easier.

Practice my friends – practice and use perspective. Look for people worse off than you and it will help you choose thoughts that won’t add to your stres.