Day 676 - Stoicism and stress - https://golifelog.com/posts/stoicism-and-stress-1667784589309
Biohacking is often very physical or tech-related, but for biohacking stress, I think there's lots of mindset and mental tricks that help. Stoicism is making a comeback recently and the Stoic's practical and inner ways to handle stress that [@dailystoic](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CkoxFiYA4qn/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=) talked about seems to be pretty spot on and relevant for stress management:
1. Focus on what you can control. Most of the thing that stress us out has nothing to do with what we can influence.
2. Prepare for it in advanced - not just do positive visualisation, do negative visualisation. "The blow you can anticipate lands the least heavy." - Seneca
3. Journaling - Write in morning what you're stressed about, and in evening, review how the day went, what you did. Did I really need to be so worried. Did my worry make anything better?
4. Have a hobby, different from work, from kids. Put some of that stress energy to good use.
5. Laugh at life, don't cry about it. Life is absurd rather than terrible.
6. Memento mori - almost nothing is worth worrying about in light of your fragile mortality.
I'm definitely guilty of overthinking things I can't control to the point it is more amplified than it seems. Always asking if it's something outside of my sphere of influence will be helpful in not letting stress run crazy. I just saw a [useful visual](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6995154047271936000) on what I can control and what I can't:
In my control:
- My boundaries
- My thoughts and actions
- The goals I set
- What I give my energy to
- How I speak to myself
- How I handle challenges
Out of my control:
- The past
- The future
- The actions of others
- The opinions of others
- What happens around me
- What other people think of me
- How others take care of themselves
Having more-than-enough advanced preparation for me definitely helps. For my consulting gigs, I often arrive 1h earlier to settle into the space and be ready. Preparation is also about setting the right expectations and mindset going in. As I've realised recently, [expectations can help, or hinder](https://golifelog.com/posts/expectations-1667690041647) – good to calibrate from the onset.
Writing here is my journaling in a way. But Maybe I should consider something analog and offline, where I can write 100% without inhibition.
I've failed at finding hobbies multiple times. So much that I gave up on hobbies. Maybe the word "hobby" is hindering. Maybe what I need is simply to do something different. Switch up the form. Sit at the desk too much. Go do some work with my hands. Tasks are too intellectual and cognitive? Do something wildly creative for a change – paint, draw, create. Too much solo work? Go work in teams for a short while.
I'm definitely too serious when it comes to life. Laughing at life would help. Having a sense of humour about failures and difficulties, making light of things, having a laugh at myself – all great ways to uncoil that stress spring building up tension within. My shitpost tweets are often attempts at this. Maybe that's why they work so well!
Lastly, memeto mori gives the overview effect on the planet that's our life. Just take a step back and a deep breath, and know that a year from now you might not even remember what you're stressed about today.
Stress biohacking, the Stoic way.
1. Focus on what you can control. Most of the thing that stress us out has nothing to do with what we can influence.
2. Prepare for it in advanced - not just do positive visualisation, do negative visualisation. "The blow you can anticipate lands the least heavy." - Seneca
3. Journaling - Write in morning what you're stressed about, and in evening, review how the day went, what you did. Did I really need to be so worried. Did my worry make anything better?
4. Have a hobby, different from work, from kids. Put some of that stress energy to good use.
5. Laugh at life, don't cry about it. Life is absurd rather than terrible.
6. Memento mori - almost nothing is worth worrying about in light of your fragile mortality.
I'm definitely guilty of overthinking things I can't control to the point it is more amplified than it seems. Always asking if it's something outside of my sphere of influence will be helpful in not letting stress run crazy. I just saw a [useful visual](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6995154047271936000) on what I can control and what I can't:
In my control:
- My boundaries
- My thoughts and actions
- The goals I set
- What I give my energy to
- How I speak to myself
- How I handle challenges
Out of my control:
- The past
- The future
- The actions of others
- The opinions of others
- What happens around me
- What other people think of me
- How others take care of themselves
Having more-than-enough advanced preparation for me definitely helps. For my consulting gigs, I often arrive 1h earlier to settle into the space and be ready. Preparation is also about setting the right expectations and mindset going in. As I've realised recently, [expectations can help, or hinder](https://golifelog.com/posts/expectations-1667690041647) – good to calibrate from the onset.
Writing here is my journaling in a way. But Maybe I should consider something analog and offline, where I can write 100% without inhibition.
I've failed at finding hobbies multiple times. So much that I gave up on hobbies. Maybe the word "hobby" is hindering. Maybe what I need is simply to do something different. Switch up the form. Sit at the desk too much. Go do some work with my hands. Tasks are too intellectual and cognitive? Do something wildly creative for a change – paint, draw, create. Too much solo work? Go work in teams for a short while.
I'm definitely too serious when it comes to life. Laughing at life would help. Having a sense of humour about failures and difficulties, making light of things, having a laugh at myself – all great ways to uncoil that stress spring building up tension within. My shitpost tweets are often attempts at this. Maybe that's why they work so well!
Lastly, memeto mori gives the overview effect on the planet that's our life. Just take a step back and a deep breath, and know that a year from now you might not even remember what you're stressed about today.
Stress biohacking, the Stoic way.