EILEEN ADLER

Take the road less traveled because it will make all the difference in your life.

“The Road Not Taken” by poet Robert Frost written in 1916, ends with these three lines: 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Here is a new word to add to your vocabulary and your life: Eustress. 

Eustress is the space between what you have and what you want; it’s the space in which to set goals, to establish self-care rituals, create positive stress by motivating you toward achievement and, concurrently, lowers your stress levels. This seems like an oxymoron when two juxtaposed words are opposites or they contradict one other: positive stress, jumbo shrimp, seriously funny, love-hate relationship, paid volunteers, awfully lucky, or foolish wisdom. How does positive stress become a positive thing? Essentially, by diverting or redirecting your attention to something positive, setting aside time to ponder your desires, truly feels great! Just thinking about new goals lessons stress. When we strive to achieve, we gain confidence, we feel adequate and stimulated by the challenge we experience, and it feels so good.

The Greek prefix “eu” means goodness and wellness, and when it is attached to stress, it means good stress. Interesting to note the meaning is couched in how we react to stress, transforming the negative to the positive, and therefore to our well-being.