Welcome The Wind

Gentlemen,

Some scientists got together in Arizona and built the Biosphere - a massive environmental research facility.

Think gigantic warehouse that mimics the earth’s natural environment with an ocean biome, tropical rainforest biome, and desert biome all enclosed in massive climate controlled greenhouse type of buildings.

Slightly dystopian if you ask me, but nonetheless, the project was developed to be able to manipulate and measure all sorts of climate and environmental affects on these different biomes.

The most profound discovery from the project, however, wasn’t about some climate change, drought, or air quality affect; it was about stress.

Scientists realized that the trees inside the biosphere grew more rapidly than trees in the natural environement. Perhaps it was the intensely controlled environment that was perfectly curated for the health of the trees or maybe it was the elimination of outside forces that allowed the trees to focus all of their resources on growth.

Regardless of the cause, the trees grew more rapidly, but…

They also fell before reaching full maturation.

Why?… and what does this have to do with being a young man?

Upon further research, the scientists declared that the lack of wind in the biosphere led to weaker trees and less rigid root systems.

The stagnant air and nonexistent stressors led to fragile tree fibers and roots.

The rapid growth was all for nothing as the trees did not reach their full potential.

The constantly flucuating wind in the natural environement is a perpetual stress test for trees. A slight northern wind shifting to a moderate eastern wind is enough stress for a tree’s fibers and roots to adapt and strengthen according to that stress.

The next time the wind flucuates in that way, the tree is better able to handle it.

This is directly applicable to us. Wind is to trees as stress is to us.

You need stress. We all do.

We must welcome stress to grow, strengthen, and to become more formidable.

We need winds to shift, we need external factors to fluctuate, we need imbalance to catalyze the necessary adaptations for growth.

We need the wind.

We welcome the wind.

The nuance here is creating and welcoming the right amount of wind.

We want eustress, not distress.

Eustress is a stress that leads to a positive adaptation. Distress is a stress that leads to a negative adaptation.

If the wind is too weak, the tree falls.

If the wind is too strong, the tree falls.

Just as it is maladaptive to have no wind(stress) at all, it is maladaptive to have too much wind(stress).

What that looks like for you will be different than the next guy, but the lesson remains:

We must welcome the wind.

It’s the mindset shift from fearing and avoiding stress to welcoming and creating eustress that carries the benefit.

Working out, taking on the project at work, starting your martial arts journey, having that difficult conversation… the examples are endless.

How can you reframe certain stressors in your life?

What stress can you welcome in your life?

How would welcoming a certain stressor change your attitude towards it?

The flame that welcomes the wind, grows. The tree that welcomes the wind, stays.

Onward & Upward,

Nolan

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