Notice I say managing your stress, not eliminating it, because eliminating all stress is impossible. As I mentioned earlier, some stress is actually good for you. It can get you charged up just when you need a boost. It makes life more fun, more interesting, more exciting. Don't we all crave some stress? We get bored with the daily routine and long for an exciting vacation. We desire that feeling of falling in love, the excitement of meeting someone new, the challenge of a promotion, the spark generated by learning a new subject, visiting a new place, even getting lost (for just a little while) in a new city or even an unfamiliar part of town.

In other words, while too much stress is bad, some stress is good. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to eliminate all stress from your life. Good stress can be great, as long as it doesn't last and last and last. Eventually, most of us like to get back to an equilibrium, whether that is a routine, an earlier bedtime, or a home-cooked meal.

Maybe you've noticed that some people thrive on constant change, stimulation, and a high-stress kind of life. Think about roving reporters, traveling network administrators, or people who can make the most mundane life events into great dramas. Others prefer a highly regular, even ritualistic kind of existence. Think of the people who have rarely left their hometowns and are perfectly happy that way, thank you. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. We like to travel, to experience the occasional thrilling life event, but are usually pretty glad to get back home or have things settle back to normal (normal being the equilibrium where we function best).

Whichever type of person you are, the changes in your body that make you react more quickly, think more sharply, and give you a kind of “high” feeling of super accomplishment only last up to a point. The point when the stress response turns from productive to counterproductive is different for each person, but, in general, stress feels great and actually increases your performance until it reaches a certain turning point — your Stress Tolerance Point. If stress continues or increases after that point, your performance will decrease, and the effects on your body will start to have a negative rather than a positive effect.