I have buddies
who post articles about
every bad thing
that is happening
in the world.
I usually comment,
asking them
“What should I do
about this?”
and they rarely have
any suggestions.
So I forget about the bad thing
they posted.
I can’t do anything about it.
And I go on with my day
a little more stressed
than I was
before I interacted with these buddies.
Nothing gets done.
And that’s stressful.
“…Leventhal was able
to show that
our minds are susceptible
to blocking out information
that evokes a sense of urgency
if there aren’t any instructions
on what to do next.
He revealed that
those who didn’t receive
follow-up information
were prone to convincing themselves
that,
“I don’t need to worry about this
because it won’t happen to me
anyway,”
whereas those in the second group
had little reason
to feel this way
because they had a plan
to take action.”
Don’t create
a sense of urgency
(and that corresponding stress)
without offering an action plan
(a relief to the stress).