It’s happened to all of us and it will happen again. Stress always finds a way to pop into our lives, whether it comes in the form of a car crash, a close relative getting sick or just trying to get through finals week, everyone faces a unique set of problems. Humans are defined by how we react to these problems, from trivial inconveniences to major life changing events. You can choose to ignore your problems or blame them on someone else, hoping for some sort of justice; but confrontation of your problems is the only way you will truly develop as a human being.

So, how can stress be good? First of all, we need to define stress and explain it’s mechanisms. Stress is defined as a mental or emotional strain due to adverse or demanding circumstances. This mental or emotional tension is projected biologically through biopsychological stress systems involving the brain and hormones such as cortisol The biological mechanism of stress originated through evolutionary mechanisms; natural selection favored humans that, when faced with factors that threatened their survival, would stress and be driven to deal with those threats. These days, humans in developed countries rarely have to worry about hunting for their next meal or running from dangerous predators, but stress is rather attained through the experiences we have as we go through our daily routines, going from home to school or work, and running errands in between all of it.

It is a well-known fact that excess stress results in health problems such as an increased risk for heart disease. If too much stress is bad, shouldn’t we try to avoid it at all costs? One can surely try to avoid stress completely but they will soon realize that it is nearly impossible to do so. Even if you locked yourself in a room, emotional stress in the form of loneliness and boredom will soon creep up on you. There are stressful situations, small and large, waiting around every corner. You can also attempt to ignore all the stress that comes your way but not dealing with your problems will end in a massive and destructive train wreck of your social and professional lives. Blaming others for your problems will result in a similar catastrophe, because blaming will simply alienate your friends, family and co-workers and while other people are important for support, only you can make the decision to change yourself to adapt to your situation.

Most of us hear the phrase “learn from your mistakes” as we’re growing up, but most people don’t realize the significance of this idea. In all aspects of life, improvement comes from experience. A musician gets better at performing a piece as they practice and correct any mistakes they make, and athletes also pay attention to mistakes they make during games and practice so that they can work on improving their weakest aspects. However, without making the mistakes in the first place, they would have never had an opportunity to grow. In summary, stress is crucial in that without it, one cannot grow mentally, physically, and spiritually. This holds true for every single aspect of life, from your career to your relationships and everything in between. As you learn how to utilize stress to improve yourself, you will not only become a better human being, you’ll avoid a buildup of stress which would have resulted in mental and physical health problems.

Never make the same mistake twice. Make the most out of the stressful situations you experience by realizing that we can’t control what happens to us, we can only control the way we react to those events. Learn to see difficulty as an opportunity, not an obstacle.