Background

This section is intentionally called stress mastery, not stress management. Management implies “to manage or direct with a degree of skill.” It is a good thing, but perhaps not ultimately the best thing when it comes to stress and your responses to it.

By comparison, mastery is eloquently described by George Leonard:

(Mastery is) “not a goal or a destination , but rather a process or journey, where muscles, mind, and spirit come together creating graceful and purposive movements through time and space…To take the master’s journey, you have to practice diligently, striving to hone your skills, to attain new levels of competence. But while doing so, you have to be willing to spend your time on a plateau, to keep practicing even when you seem to be getting nowhere.” Leonard, G. (1991). Stress Mastery. New York: Plume, 176

Learning to master your stress responses is a life’s work. Begin, or continue, this journey with awareness and intention.