Have you ever learned a word, only to forget it when you need it the most? That just happened to me when writing my Treatise on Resident Evil, and my relative fears. There is a term that refers to the types of stress that provoke growth; Eustress.

In all of my long-windedness, I was really coming to a realization about Eustress. Eustress is generally referred to as stress that has a positive and beneficial effect on an individual. When playing a game, or engaging in any number of activities, there is supposed to be a degree of Eustress involved. Effectively these stresses are to push you to continue and persevere. Unfortunately for me, I’ve been rejecting these moments of potential growth.

When playing a video game, there is always a choice for difficulty, whether you pick a lower difficulty as it is made for those with inexperience, or if you really just want to experience the narrative. While both of these are legitimate reasons for choosing the easier difficulties, I was instead, using them as a form of scapegoat. Often I’d eschew the description that stated a difficulty is intended for a beginner, or for someone unfamiliar with the action games, etc. I got used, to choosing the easy way out. If you’ve spent any time online you’ve likely seen RAGEQUIT videos of folks wrecking their stuff out of frustration due to being challenged in a video game (i.e. dying in a boss battle etc.) On one hand, you have those that freak out, on another, those that step up, and then a special third where you just give up because “it’s too hard” but don’t “lose your cool.” I’d be that third option.

There is a widespread problem for many individuals out in the world and even those who are still in school: If you are particularly gifted or intelligent, you can develop a sense that things are easy in life, and education. There comes a breaking point however where you either face new challenges or relegate yourself to the easier path.

Without oversharing too much, I can put it plainly: Growing up, I was recognized as quite intelligent, and for the most part had a very easy time when it came to academics, even B.S.-ing an essay on the spot and getting Grade-A work. In my years of Private School, in and amongst my teenage angst, I was still completing sufficiently challenging work, but not feeling much of the challenge. My breaking point came in my Sophomore year of Highschool.

After being challenged for 3 years, I breezed through my Freshman Year, only to find myself struggling as the following year proceeded. Soon I was trying to tackle new material, but also practicing Football, etc. Between the two my studies waned, and I felt that I didn’t need to focus or work as hard as I needed to. Chemistry and Geometry were two of the biggest hurdles, as well as having an awful Spanish instructor but I digress.

I started taking the easy way out, with everything. If I could accomplish it without challenging or struggling, I did it. If something wasn’t terribly wrong I could ignore it. All of this has essentially snowballed for over a decade at this point, with only taking on challenges when absolutely necessary.

Clearly, this is not how one should live their life.

I came to this realization through playing Resident Evil 2 Remake, and currently, I’m playing the REmake of the first game on my Twitch Channel: dmatiq #shamelessplug

When considering the nature of stresses in the world of video games, and my experiences previously, I’ve started taking the challenging path. I’ve gone out of my way to play some things that I would have told you were “too hard.” I feared failure, and I really feared being challenged.

One benefit of streaming my gameplay of Resident Evil REmake is the more conscious social side of things. Here I am playing a game that is clearly going to challenge me, but for the first time in a while, I’m aware that I’m going to be judged/ seen. There were several points on stream where, in the past, I would have given up and played something else. Instead, the end result is that I’ve begun pushing myself and challenging myself to keep playing, and as a result, I’ve gotten further and progressed.

In reflecting on this, I’m seeing the reality that I need to truly challenge myself to grow. I cannot allow comfort and ease to dictate my path any further. This has manifested in small ways including “Oh I’ll do dishes tomorrow, I don’t feel like it today.” As many of us know, that can turn into eternal can-kicking until you end up having an hour-long dishes session, versus the 5 minutes it would have taken to stem the tide.

These moments also tie into a couple of other bits that I’ve come across over the last year or so. Atomic Habits by James Clear discusses how small and incremental changes can lead to marked benefits down the line. Effectively, a positive version of kicking the can. If you kick yourself into doing something, little by little, you can not only form a habit but reap exponential rewards over time.

Alternatively, you can refer to the theory of the Five Minute Rule, wherein you work on an activity, or project for five minutes. If you continue it, is up to you, but at least doing 5 minutes of work is more productive than doing nothing at all. There is a further version of this rule that discusses the idea that if you can accomplish a task in 5 minutes or less, do it. Often procrastinators, like myself, end up spending more time trying to put off a task, or distracting ourselves far longer than it would take to accomplish the task.

Having things pile up, compounds stress, and not Eustresses, just plain old stresses. The Eustress of accomplishing a task at an early stage will quickly pass, leaving you with not only a sense of accomplishment but also preventing a future ball of stress from slamming down on you.

Or to put it into Resident Evil terms… it’s better to spend some ammunition to clear a path, versus resorting to boulder-punching down the line…

I hope my own realization may make something click for you. Until Next time…