Someone asked me recently:
“How do I stop allowing stress and chaos to fuel my fire when it feels like I have no other option?”
Such a valid question.
Because if you’ve been operating under pressure for a long time, it can genuinely feel like stress is the thing making you productive.
Like chaos is what gets you moving.
Like panic is what turns the lights on.
But here’s the thing:
Stress isn’t accidentally running the show.
It can become chemically addictive.
And when your nervous system has been jacked up on cortisol for long enough, panic can start to feel like power.
So you tell yourself:
“I work better under pressure.”
Maybe.
Or maybe you’ve just never felt safe creating without a dragon breathing down your neck.
Because somewhere along the way, your body may have learned:
Calm = danger.
Stillness = collapse.
Safety = weakness.
So of course you keep jumping back into the fire.
Even when you say you’re done.
Even when you know it’s killing your joy.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re sabotaging yourself.
It may simply be a pattern your body has learned.
Stress can become part of your identity when your system has never felt safe without it.
And that is the glitch.
The goal isn’t to go cold turkey on chaos and suddenly force yourself into stillness.
That can shock the system too.
Instead, start introducing a different possibility:
“I can be activated and inspired without being at war with myself.”
You don’t need to numb out.
You don’t need to push harder.
You don’t need to wait until you’ve earned safety after everything is finished.
You can start creating safety as you go.
That is a very different way to work.
A very different way to build.
A very different way to live.
Because we’re not here to burn out.
We’re here to build from brilliance.
💜 Abi