I have long been fascinated by and drawn to stories of people who have suffered greatly and yet live free. That’s why my favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption. I heard once that Nelson Mandela was able to find a sublime level of peace in his soul while imprisoned. You have probably heard similar stories. I have even wished suffering upon myself at times because in suffering, we learn who we truly are and what really matters in life bubbles to the surface. Weird, right?

We cannot really avoid stress or suffering, though we try and try. It is what you make of the stress that matters. These “new” findings suggest that what you believe about stress is very important. If you believe stress will kill you, then it just might. Instead, it is more true that whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger…if you let it. Then again, maybe dying is not so bad. The stress is there to set you free and to form you. We must learn to trust it.