One step you can take towards building an optimistic outlook is setting aside time to examine your stress response cycle. Dr. Emily Nagoski and Dr. Amelia Nagoski – twin sisters who co-authored "Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle" – describe stress as a "tunnel." In this tunnel, you must work through uncomfortable feelings to make it out to the other end.
Stress is not necessarily bad for you. The Drs. Nagoski point out that the problem is getting stuck in the middle (of the stress tunnel), or "never having an opportunity to take your body through the cycle."
For the Nagoskis, it's essential to know the difference between your stressors (the things that cause your stress) and stress itself – the physiological reaction that occurs in your body in response to any perceived threat.
If commuting is an unpleasant experience, your entire body may go into stress mode – from your digestion to your immune system – as you prepare to board a train or bus. You feel relief once you get off because the stressor (in this case, the commute) is gone.
But eliminating the stressor does not really take care of your body in the long term. After all, you will commute again and put your body through the same conditions. So, you'll need to know how to tend to your physiological health because, ultimately, you can't avoid stress altogether.