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#101 Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

Isn’t that a great name for a book?

Witty Stanford scientist Robert Sapolsky's entertainingly breaks down the science of stress in his book, “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers.”

The Big Idea?

You ever think about why zebras don’t get ulcers? It’s actually pretty simple.

A lion comes after them. Their hearts beat fast to get oxygen to their legs. They run away. Very appropriate stressful situation to stress response relationship, yah?

Now, if they escaped that lion, do they imagine the next lion that may come after them—getting their hearts racing again while they worryingly fidget and look all around for the next bad thing that can happen?

Of course not. Zebras go about their business doing what zebras do on Savannahs. (Not sure what that is, but that’s what they do! :))

In short, zebras are in the moment. They respond with stress when the situation demands it, otherwise they’re chillaxed.

Now, what do WE do when a lion comes after us.

Oh, wait.

We don’t even have lions or other predators chasing us any more…

So what, exactly, do we need a fear reflex that pumps our heart to get blood to our legs so we can run?!?

Hmmmm…

That seems a little outdated.

And isn’t it a little weird that we can create “lions’ (aka potentially angry bosses/spouses; a room full of people who may laugh at us if we say something stupid during our presentation; etc.) that will get our hearts beating in nearly exactly the same way our hearts would beat if we were actually being chased by a lion.

Don’t you find that kinda odd?

Point being: IF we’re walking down a dark alley and someone starts chasing us, having blood pumping would be a very (!) good thing.

Walking down the hall thinking about an argument we had last night with our spouse or about a presentation we need to give later that day?

Not so good.

Living with that kind of stress will give you an ulcer!

Exactly why zebras don’t get em. :)

…

Are you creating more stress in your life than you need to?

What practices can you more regularly integrate into your life to deal with the stress? More exercise? More meditation? More good books? More time with people whose company you really enjoy?

I say we take a moment to see what we can do to be a little more like a zebra today, eh? :)