The Modern Epidemic: A Society Too Weak to Handle Stress

We’ve been sold a lie.

Everywhere you turn, society is preaching the gospel of comfort—take it easy, avoid stress, seek balance.

But here’s the harsh truth: comfort is making us weaker. 

The obsession with eliminating stress has created a generation that crumbles under pressure, avoiding challenges instead of embracing them. Stress isn’t the enemy—it’s the fuel for growth, resilience, and success.

If you want to be exceptional, stop running from discomfort. Because the moment you do, you’ll realize what the world doesn’t want you to know: stress is your greatest advantage.

I recently came across this trend line. The data and the direction it was going did not shock me. What did — was the fact that it has continued to go upward since then.

It made me ask three questions:
1) Why is it going up?
2) Is more stress bad?
3) Are we actually more stressed or is it simply perception?

Stats That Might Scare You

More than 80 percent of all diseases and illnesses have a stress component.

More than 90 percent of Americans deal with stress ineffectively.

As health care costs continue to rise, more emphasis is placed on each individual to accept the responsibility for his or her health. The application of effective strategies for stress reduction is a very important component of optimal health.

That said, what is the solution?

The Hardiness Theory Is The Answer

While searching, here is what I found:

This theory considers hardiness to be a personality trait that allows a person to cope and manage stress. It refers to these three C’s:

• COMMITMENT

• CONTROL

• CHALLENGE

Commitment: a resolve or belief to remain involved in the event or lives of people around you no matter how stressful things become.

Control: a feeling that you have an influence on the events and situations that are causing stress.

Challenge: a view that stress is an opportunity to grow, learn, and develop.

This combination of personality traits is related to greater health and seems to buffer stress. Developing these characteristics can be your competitive advantage.

Here is how:

1. Commitment: Stop Numbing, Start Engaging

Hardy people stay engaged with life, even when things get hard. Instead of shutting down or escaping through distractions (Netflix, social media, or mindless scrolling), commit to pushing forward.

Action Step:

• When stress hits, identify one meaningful action you can take instead of avoiding it.

• Example: You’re drowning in work and feel like procrastinating. Instead of numbing out, commit to finishing just one task. Small wins create momentum.

2. Control: Own What You Can, Ignore What You Can’t

Feeling powerless fuels stress. The key? Focus on what you can influence. You can’t control the economy, but you can control your spending. You can’t control how someone treats you, but you can control your response.

Action Step:

• Break stressful situations into two lists: things you can control vs. things you can’t.

• Example: If your boss is demanding an impossible deadline, you can’t control their expectations, but you can control how you plan, prioritize, and communicate realistic boundaries.

3. Challenge: Reframe Stress as Growth

Most people see stress as a signal to stop. Hardy people see it as a signal to grow. Stress isn’t the enemy—it’s the gym for your mind.

Action Step:

• When faced with a challenge, ask: How is this making me stronger?

• Example: You bombed a presentation. Instead of seeing it as failure, view it as training—what did you learn, and how can you improve? Next time, you’ll be sharper and more prepared.

If we don’t learn how to use stress to fuel our growth, we will fall trap to the comfortable reality of floating through life.

Final Thought

Weakness isn’t caused by stress—it’s caused by avoiding it. Build hardiness, and stress becomes your competitive edge. Will you keep running from discomfort, or will you start using it to make yourself unstoppable?

Manage the bad stressors, capitalize on the good.

Do something challenging today, it may save your life.

Enjoy,

Blake

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