If I told you in a recent study, that participants who reported feeling stressed out had a 43% chance of dying prematurely, you probably wouldn't bat an eyelash right? After all, conventional wisdom tells us “stress is bad for us.”
But, what if I told you that this statistic was only true if people also believed that stress was bad for their health. Meaning, other participants in the study who experienced a lot of stress, but didn't think it was bad for their health, did not have the same health issues or mortality outcomes as those who believed stress was bad for them.
This is an example of acceptance in action: by accepting stress as a natural part of the human system, it loses its power and doesn't even create lasting physical damage.
REFERENCE
Kelly Mcgonigal. “How to make stress your friend.” Ted.com. n.d.