No Stress, Just Tension
There was a slow moment while I was volunteering at my local food pantry, so I got a chance to talk with the pastor that runs the site. He told me that one his mottos in life is no stress, just tension.
This was something he learned years back when he was interning at a startup, and was working as an aide to the CEO. At some point, the company was going through a downturn and they had to lay some people off. After they'd figured out who they were going to let go, the CEO went to each of them individually and told them that he would personally help them with their job search.
"You're going to feel some tension for sure," he told them, "but I can't let you stress about whether you're going to make it."
This made me think about the times in my life where I felt the most stressed. Looking back, these were the times where everything was uncertain, and especially the times where I felt like I was completely alone.
Those moments still would have been tough with someone standing by me, but at least I might have felt like everything would be okay.