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The reason humans experience so much more stress than other species isn't just because we think more, but also because we think differently.

Andrew Bernstein

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Andrew Bernstein
Age: 65
Born: 1959
Born: June 6
Author
Philosopher
University Teacher
Humans
Much
Think
Differently
Thinking
Stress
Species
Experience
Also
Reason

More quotes by Andrew Bernstein

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The number of stressors has multiplied exponentially: traffic, money, success, work/life balance, the economy, the environment, parenting, family conflict, relationships, disease. As the nature of human life has become far more complicated, our ancient stress response hasn't been able to keep up.
Andrew Bernstein
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Even in this secular country, the threat posed by religious fundamentalists is never very far away. Every major religious text exhorts the same principles - that of unyielding obedience to a supernatural being, and renunciation of the intellect and personal aspirations.
Andrew Bernstein
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Many argue that Christianity is different from other religions - that it is primarily about love of one's fellow man. The Crusades, The Inquisition, Calvin's Geneva all prove that this is not the case. These events were pre-eminently about obedience to authority.
Andrew Bernstein
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Stress is never a given. There are people who get divorced amicably. There are people who pack up and move with no emotional toll. There is no stressor 'out there' in the world. We experience stress - or we don't - depending on what we believe.
Andrew Bernstein
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The truth is that stress doesn't come from your boss, your kids, your spouse, traffic jams, health challenges, or other circumstances. It comes from your thoughts about these circumstances.
Andrew Bernstein
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Nothing is given to man on earth - struggle is built into the nature of life, and conflict is possible - the hero is the man who lets no obstacle prevent him from pursuing the values he has chosen.
Andrew Bernstein
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You might think that shifting your thoughts is as easy as setting your mind to it. But stressful thoughts aren't held in place through choice or will power. They're held in place through perceived truth value.
Andrew Bernstein
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Stress is not the spice of life any more than arsenic is. And without it, you won't feel bored.
Andrew Bernstein
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Remember that stress doesn't come from what's going on in your life. It comes from your thoughts about what's going on in your life.
Andrew Bernstein
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People around the world now complain about stressors everyday, and the word shows up throughout professional and lay literature. But in reality there is no such thing as a stressor. Why not? Because nothing has the inherent power to provoke stress.
Andrew Bernstein
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During the financial crisis, I worked with hundreds of executives who struggled as a result of their thoughts about job security. When their beliefs changed, so did their emotional experience - and they were then able to focus on the task at hand more effectively.
Andrew Bernstein
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Altruism demands that an individual serve others, but doesn’t stipulate whether those others should be one’s family, or the homeless, or society as a whole. Collectivism states that, in politics, society comes first and the individual must obey. Collectivism is the application of the altruist ethics to politics.
Andrew Bernstein
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The more you worry, the more you throw off the delicate balance of hormones required for health.
Andrew Bernstein
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To believe that your husband, wife, parents, kids, boss, job, bank account, or body is even partly responsible for your emotions, to think that there are bullets 'out there' that you have to contend with, that there are stressful life events to overcome, is to miss something vital.
Andrew Bernstein
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We need to distinguish between stress and stimulation. Having deadlines, setting goals, and pushing yourself to perform at capacity are stimulating. Stress is when you're anxious, upset, or frustrated, which dramatically reduce your ability to perform.
Andrew Bernstein
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It's time we learned the truth about stress. It's time we identified the thoughts that actually create our stress and learned to dismantle them one by one.
Andrew Bernstein
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Stress is the negative whirlwind of emotions that gets imposed on top of our stimulation and engagement.
Andrew Bernstein
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You can't tell yourself that your stress is produced in your head and feel better. You still need to learn how to create a change.
Andrew Bernstein
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A hero has faced it all: he need not be undefeated, but he must be undaunted.
Andrew Bernstein
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Stress is a byproduct of subconscious beliefs you have about the world. You can't choose not to believe something. You believe it because you think it's true. To eliminate stress, you must learn to challenge these beliefs so that you see them differently.
Andrew Bernstein