Both sound uncomfortable, and in many ways both are. One big difference though. Being stretched grows you, stress just kills you. Yes both can be painful but it might be more painful to sit and think of who you could have been, what you could have done if you would have allowed yourself to be stretched. Therefore, the solution isn't "I'll just stop stretching myself to new levels", the solution is understanding the difference between these two.
So how can I know the difference between stress and being stretched? And how can I make the right choices that keep me choosing the correct pain. The more ironic problem may be that in many cases the choice of being stretched is allowed to go too far and leads to stress. Maybe the question should be at what point does stretching turn into stress. And the tricky thing is that it is always changing its location.
-3 ways to keep stretching from turning into stress
You know that guy/that girl who goes to the gym for the first time in a long time and just overdoes it. I mean they completely annihilate themselves. You're thinking, (I am that guy/girl). Me too. We can draw three conclusions from this example that show us why we allowed the process of stretching push us to being stressed.
1. Current assessment :: Current and correct information allows us to process the problem correctly and make the right decision. We overdo it in the gym mostly because we think we can still do what we could in the past. Nope. This one also reminds you to do what you can now and not wait until the ideal situation.
2. Past successes :: Focus on what worked before. If you remember back, the gym worked best when it was a routine, not just one extreme day of destruction. This is one where people can quickly allow stretching to overcome them and turn into stress. It is so easy when we think about the past to remember one of two extremes; either the glory days or the brutal failures of our past. Instead of either of these, focus on the times you were successful in the ordinary.
3. Future goals :: It might be possible to stretch without a goal in mind but it probably won't yield the results you want. In my past I was a massive procrastinator until I discovered the secret. It actually takes less work to plan ahead and act than to wait. With a plan in place you can then begin going about working on the individual pieces of the plan instead of the whole thing at once, which is definitely a stressor. Another key, make realistic goals... Stress comes when our goals exceed our abilities and our faith.
Here's the crazy part. Leaving out just one of these insights while being stretched can quickly cause stress. Current assessment without a future goal is simply judgmental. A future goal without current assessment and past successes is just a dream. And so on... Imagine how much less stress we could have if we controlled the stretching process.
Now, I'm a Christian and I would be crazy not to tell you my biggest stress relief. Jesus said it this way and my hope for you is that you would understand this personally...
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.””
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mat.11.28-30.nlt