Outline: The “stress is good” talk show.

Format: similar to a TED talk

❖ Introduction:
- Hook: skit about work
- Anchor questions
❖ Can stress be a good thing?
- In the old days, people tend to associate stress with negativity
- Distinguish good/bad stress (define and contrast)
=> Some amounts of stress are good to push you just to the level of optimal alertness,
behavioral and cognitive performance.
❖ How is stress good?
- Broad view: Stress is the backbone of the human development
- Specifically: Stress provides people motivation to complete tasks and
allows people to deal with challenges of their daily lives.
=> You go through your daily life trying to satisfy your needs and
contribute to society in a meaningful way.
❖ Conclusion
- The key is differentiating good stress from bad stress. Stress does not
have to be your enemy.
- “Effort makes the difference”
Glossary:
- Rationally irrational (nghe vô lý nhưng rất thuyết phục:>)
- Differentiating: phân biệt
- Elaborate: giải thích
- Wears you out: làm bạn kiệt sức
- Proportion: Tỉ lệ
- Backbone of human development: nền tảng cho sự phát triển nhân loại
- Necessities: nhu cầu thiết yếu
- maslow's hierarchy of needs: Tháp nhu cầu của Maslow
- Aimlessly: không có mục đích/vô tri
- Chronic: mạn tính
- Acute: mãn tính
- Donald Tubesing (tên riêng)
- Shamble: hỗn loạn
- The fight or flight response: Phản ứng chống trả hay bỏ chạy
- Vital: quan trọng
 I. Intro:
Vic: Hello everyone, welcome back to our talk show “rationally irrational” (nghe vô lý
nhưng rất thuyết phục:>). Where we talk about pretty much anything we want to
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Vic: I’m your host Vicky here with my co-host, Emma. And we’re back for another
“rational” conversation. But before we get into the topic, take a look at this skit:
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1. Hook: skit about work No work -> no money -> die with poverty
Emm: Hey babe, find s.th to do please! You can’t just be lying around doing nothing like
this (*meme image*)
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Vic: no mom, I love playing, and staying home with you is enough for me. I don't want to
be stressed with work!
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Emm: What would you do if I’m gone, huh? Don’t you know that stress is good?
Vic: If it were you in this situation, who would you agree with?
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Emma: “When you think of stress, what do you tend to imagine?” “Work, deadlines
piling up, family drama, busy schedules wear us thin and we wind up exhausted.”
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Vic: BUT Can stress really be a good thing? Or are people just saying that to make you
feel better about work?
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Vic: In the old days, a lot of people said that: Stress is not good, it’s so bad for you. If
we don’t have any stress then there’s nothing to worry about.
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Vic: However, “You have to change your attitude to be successful”
Emma: Yes, I agree. Although It’s easy to dismiss all stress as harmful and
unnecessary ->đánh đồng mọi thứ là không tốt.
-
Emma: It's vital that you can distinguish the good from the bad kind of stress. So Vicky,
what is your definition of good and bad stress?
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Vic: Good stress is short-term and it inspires and motivates you, focuses your energy,
and enhances performance.
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Vic: Bad stress, however, is the kind that wears you out, leaves you tired, and is
harmful to your health.
-
Emma: I’d agree. In general, good stress is short-term and pushes you to accomplish
greater things. In these situations, you tend to have a lot of control over the outcome
and the stress can motivate you.
-
Emma: Bad stress (or sometimes referred to as chronic or acute stress), however, often
accompanied with feelings of helplessness because you don’t have a lot of control over
what’s happening.
-
Vic: So going back to our key question: “Can stress be a good thing?” Why do you need
stress in your day-to-day life?
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Emma: Well, to quote Donald Tubesing, “Stress is like spice – in the right proportion, it
enhances the flavor of a dish. Too little produces a bland, dull meal; too much may
choke you.”
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Vic: Can you elaborate?
Emma: In a broader view, stress is the backbone of human development.
-
Emma: Stress is not only about work, school, or something serious. It can be the
motivation for why people can survive and be happy.
-
Emma: We’re worried that we won’t have enough food on the table, a roof over our
heads or money to spend on necessities [like the maslow's hierarchy of needs would
suggest]
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Vic: Oh, so the stress from that is why you work and contribute, thus improve society’s
quality of life
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Emma: Yes. Think of it this way. If you don’t feel like you’re stressed about making a
living, would you even go to work? Would you study? Would you do anything?
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Emma: If the society is filled with people with that same mindset, could it function?
Farmers quit growing crops, companies shut down since people refuse to work, society
goes to shamble since people lack the motivation to put in the effort
-
Vic: So in more specific terms, stress provides people motivation to complete tasks and
allows people to deal with challenges of their daily lives.
-
Emma: Think of your most recent homework. Had you not been stressed about it,
would you have completed it on time?
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Vic: Why would you do something that is forced upon you?
Emma: Yes, Apply that thought to your everyday decisions and you will see how
important stress is.
-
Vic: You go through your daily life trying to satisfy your needs and contribute to society
in a meaningful way.
-
Vic: You may not see it but it’s stress that is motivating you to do things instead of lying
around aimlessly.
-
Emma: Good stress also protects us and keeps us safe in dangerous situations.
Sometimes, it can even be the only thing that keeps you alive.
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Vic: Take for example: The fight or flight response is an automatic physiological
reaction to an event that is perceived as stressful or frightening.
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Vic: The old idea of stress being associate with negativity is old and outdated, we
should break out of it and change our way of thinking.
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Emma: Until now, you may have wanted to bottle up all stress and toss it into a fiery pit.
But now that you’re aware of the surprising health benefits of stress, remember that it
can be a friend you didn’t know you wanted.
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Emma: The key is differentiating good stress from bad stress. As long as it’s not chronic
or acute, stress can be a positive part of your life.
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Vic: Stress does not have to be your enemy. Don’t fight it – embrace it and manage it.
And whatever you do, don’t stress out about being stressed.
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Vic: Remember: “Effort makes the difference” . Thank you for joining this show today
and we’ll see you in the next episode about “how emotional damage is good for you!”.

References:
- https://hbr.org/2015/09/stress-can-be-a-good-thing-if-you-know-how-to-use-it :
Pursuing a “stress-free” life often causes more stress down the line—problems
compound, and by failing to face our most intense challenges we never
overcome them.
- https://time.com/5434826/stress-good-health/