Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has a unique take on stress that contradicts the common belief that a heavy workload causes burnout. According to a report from Fortune, the billionaire CEO argues that stress doesn’t actually come from having too much to do. Instead, he views it as a physical signal that surfaces when a person is avoiding a task or a problem that needs attention.
Even in the mid-1990s, long before Amazon became the e-commerce giant it is today, Bezos operated with this mindset. While launching his small online bookstore from a rented garage, he sat through roughly 60 meetings just to raise his first $1 million in seed capital.
Despite numerous rejections and uncertainty that would have made most entrepreneurs stumble he focused on the process of building.
The signal of inaction
According to Inc.com, Bezos describes stress as a “warning flag” or a way of listening to his body to identify that something is wrong. The psychological toll doesn’t come from the hours spent working, but from the mental weight of a pending task. When a problem is ignored, the mind continues to loop over it, which creates a sense of dread.
According to Bezos, stress is often just a symptom of deferred action. He believes that you can work 12-hour days on a project you love and feel no stress at all. In contrast, someone who is avoiding a difficult conversation or a looming deadline will feel high levels of anxiety. The true stressor is the conscious or subconscious decision to remain passive in the face of a challenge.
Antidote of the first step
The core of the Bezos rule is that the “stress goes away the second I take the first step.” He argues that you do not need to solve the entire problem to stop feeling anxious. Just identifying the issue and taking one small, productive action is usually enough to provide immediate relief.
Whether it is gathering data, calling a meeting, or sketching out a rough plan, working toward a solution shifts the mental state. As noted by Fortune, Bezos finds that his stress levels drop dramatically as soon as he starts addressing a situation. The fact that a problem is no longer being ignored sends a signal to the brain that the situation is back under control.
Turning stress into invention
By shifting from a state of worry to a state of movement, Bezos claims that high-pressure environments can actually become enjoyable. He has noted that there is nothing more fun than getting into a room with a group of inventors to tackle a specific problem.
As soon as a team starts inventing a solution, the situation turns from something that creates stress into something that creates fun. In high-growth environments where uncertainty is constant, Bezos believes the most destructive type of stress does not come from an overload of work, but rather from the act of avoidance.
By facing problems head-on, he has maintained a high level of productivity throughout his career. Today, with a net worth of around $234 billion according to Bloomberg, Bezos maintains that his experience with stress has remained the same for the most part.