My Coach's Notes on Stress

Stress, we all experience it!

And I am sure just by reading that word you can instantly connect to the feeling.

The tight chest. The busy mind. The butterflies. The restless energy. The feeling of having so much coming at you that you don’t know where to begin.

Stress is a whole-body experience, designed to support us, to protect us, to mobilise energy, to help us rise when something important is in front of us.

But over time, stress has become the enemy.

Something to avoid. Something to eliminate. Something we were told we needed less of.

And while I don’t want to minimise the impact chronic stress can have on our health, relationships, work and wellbeing...

I believe stress can also become one of our greatest teachers.

We’re not here to create a life where nothing challenges us. The aim is not avoiding waves but learning to move with them.

Running a Marathon showed me this.

When I stand at the start line of a marathon, my body doesn’t know the difference between fear and excitement. The two emotions exist together.

I’m excited by what I am about to do. Proud of the months of early mornings, long runs and quiet promises I kept to myself. But there is still that little voice, even after all these years. Have I done enough? Am I ready? Can I really do this?

My heart is racing. My energy is building. My mind is switched on.

And in that moment I have a choice. I can interpret those feelings as a sign that I don’t belong here. Or I can see them for what they are.

A sign that I care. A sign that I have stepped towards something that matters.

The same sensations that could tell me: “I’m not ready for this.” Could also remind me: “This matters to me.”

The difference is often how we respond to this stress and the meaning we attach to it.

This is where we can harness stress for good. When we notice these signals, when we can catch our stress response in the moment, when growth challenges our capacity.

A new goal. A career change. A difficult conversation. Stepping outside of our comfort zone.

These all ask us to stretch.

But when demand continually exceeds our capacity, we can’t just keep pushing harder. We need to learn how to respond differently. To recover. To regulate. To ask for support. To reconnect with why we started.

Because sustainable performance isn’t about never feeling stress. It’s about understanding ourselves enough to feel into it, to be curious about how we could use it and then consciously choosing our next step.

Do I rise to the challenge? Do I stop and recover? Do I need to reset? What is the feeling trying to teach me?

Stress doesn’t always mean something is wrong.

It can be the signal that we are standing at the edge of something that matters.

Natalie Moore is a coach, facilitator and mindset specialist who helps people reconnect with who they are and take meaningful action toward what matters. A marathon runner and ultra finisher, Natalie brings a deeply personal understanding of what it means to commit to something challenging and see it through. Her work extends beyond running, using the principles of mindset, self-leadership and aligned action to support people navigating growth, change and transition.