Small business owners at this time experience more stress than ever before. I don’t think I’ve ever known a time when there was so much pressure on us as small business owners in terms of time and competition.

We have the internet to thank for that, don’t we?

The internet has meant that not only do we have national competition, but we also have international competition from anywhere in the world. Competition is now worldwide.

It’s like a non-stop Olympics but for small businesses; where instead of having athletes competing in different sports, we have small businesses competing in different industries.

It’s no wonder small business owners are always so stressed. As a small business owner, would you say you feel stressed? Yes? Well, Stop Trying to Run the Entire Solar System! (Ah, such an appropriate acronym for stress).

Admittedly, stress is something we have to deal with as small business owners, but when we overload ourselves with work, we allow the stress to build up to a point where it overtakes our lives and causes us distress.

Distress is bad stress that makes us feel like we have lead boots on. Where the weight makes every step a struggle, and the more steps we take with them on, the weaker we get until we just don’t want to take any more steps at all.

However, it’s not always shadows and rainclouds. There is also a good type of stress.

No?! Really?

Yes, really!

Not all stress is bad for us.

Good stress is called Eustress.

It consists of the Greek prefix “EU” which means “good”. So “Eustress” literally means “good stress”.

Quite witty isn’t it?

Now, if the idea of Eustress is new to you then you are not alone.

Because when most people hear the word stress, they usually think of bad stress.

But Eustress is the good stress that we actually need in our lives. The type that focuses our energy and motivates us every day.

It’s like that rush you get when you start a new job and you’re motivated to do the best you can to prove yourself.

However, regardless of distress or eustress, we all feel some sort of stress, but not everyone knows how to properly deal with their stress.