I can see clearly now
For most of 2026, I’ve been operating from the middle of a dense fog. This year has started at such a pace that it’s been challenging to stay on top of everything, and at times I’ve felt like I was just barely holding the threads together. Add to that a minor case of existential dread about the lack of focus on safe AI development and the quiet buzzing of the early days of World War III, and it’s easy to see why the cortisol has been flowing.
The core problem, as I see it, stems from a dangerous tension we’ve created for ourselves. We’ve designed our world, consciously or not, to increase our levels of stress. The stock market’s crashing, fuel prices are rising, social media tells us we’re behind and running out of time, advertising highlights all the things we lack and the news? Well, fear sells, baby. The statistics say that we’re living in an age of less crime, less conflict, better healthcare and better quality of life than we’ve experienced at any time in history. We should be the least stressed population of humans to ever walk the earth. And yet, nearly half of adults globally report significant daily stress. The temperature is rising.
Humans, though, aren’t designed for prolonged periods of elevated stress - no animal is. Stress is useful when there’s danger. Adrenaline and hyper-awareness get us out of sticky situations, but there’s a cost. Chronic stress suppresses the immune system, causes fatigue and raises heart rate, as well as affecting memory and increasing the chances of heart disease.
For the last couple of months, I’ve been getting ill far more regularly than usual. Nothing serious, just colds, headaches, fatigue and similar symptoms. None of it has warranted a doctor’s appointment or a day off work, but I just haven’t been able to shake it, which led me to believe that there’s something in the background causing me to be unwell. I booked in for blood tests and checkups to figure out what’s going on.
Those are still pending, but yesterday I was reviewing one of my businesses and running through our financials and KPIs. It’s been a challenging quarter for the company, with some unexpected twists in the early part of the year, but after a lot of hard work from the team, we’ve turned a corner and are heading in the right direction. Having completed the analysis, I went out to grab some lunch and felt a surge of relief. It was like I could breathe again.
The crazy thing is that I didn’t realise I’d been feeling so much pressure. I thought it was normal. For the rest of the day, though, I had more energy and focus than I’ve had for weeks. My cold and headache started to subside. I’d crawled out from under the weight of massive pressure without even recognising that I’d been stuck beneath it.
It turns out this is pretty common. The body recognises and takes action to deal with stress far more proactively than the mind does. On a short timeline, this is a good thing. Over an extended period, it’s a killer. Literally.
I wanted to write about this firstly to encourage you to check in with yourself. How are you feeling, really? What’s your stress level like? It’s worth taking a little time and space to get things out of your head and on to paper. I find this is a good way to figure out where I actually am, mentally speaking. Secondly, I encourage you to take a look at the stress levels in your team and organisation. One of our key jobs as leaders is to shield our people from the pressure we’re feeling, but we’re not perfect and some of it may seep through. The amount of stress in your team will have a direct impact on your results. Talk to them. Get a sense of where they are. Look for the signs they don’t recognise.
I’m still going to get the blood tests and scans - I’m the wrong side of 40 now, so checking on my health is becoming more important. But I feel better already. How about you?
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