This one is about a word I invented called microstress. We live in a time where new compound words pop up constantly, so I figured I’d make one myself.
I find myself worrying about the smallest, most ridiculous things. Did I screw my license plate cover on tight enough? How do cows stay warm in winter if they don’t move around? How does Brian Johnson from AC/DC sing like that every single day? Little things. Silly things. Ever do that?
You might call these microstresses. I do. Although autocorrect doesn’t like that word. And there’s another microstress.
These are the tiny thoughts that pop in and out of our minds all day long that we barely even notice. But the problem is they add up. It’s like cleaning out your hard drive and discovering ten million one-sentence emails taking up space.
We think all day long. In fact, our life is essentially a stream of thoughts. And our thoughts shape our experience of life. So it becomes important to get a handle on these tiny negative thoughts.
We can’t eliminate them entirely, but we can limit them. The first step is noticing them. Most of these microstresses slip right past us. But once we begin to notice the endless flow, we can slow it down. Then we can choose to fill that space with something else—the work we’re focusing on, something interesting we see while driving, or something we’re grateful for.
Essentially, we become more present.
And as we get better at living in the present moment, the microstresses start to shrink. Over time, we begin living with clearer, calmer, and better thoughts.