The less you think counterfactually, the less you experience stress. Stress, in this light, isn't a bad thing. It's simply a warning system telling you that your mind has lost touch with what's real.

The elusive truth is that there is nothing stress-producing in the physical world. Things simply are. Molecules move. Light and sound appear.

Look closer at the stress in your own life and you can identify that negative emotions are always built on counterfactual statements.

People often say that stress is a motivator. What we're referring to when we say this is really better described as stimulation and engagement.

Stress is the negative whirlwind of emotions that gets imposed on top of our stimulation and engagement.

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.

The hero is valorous because he stands up to every threat directed against his values. Heroism requires value conflict.