I’ve decided on a theme for the rest of 2026: Systematic Stress Reduction. After all, 2 things are true. First, people seem to be running more stressed than ever these days. Second, the holidays are coming up and tend to increase stress just when we should be having fun.

Check out this dog. He knows how to relax. Completely.

When was the last time you let yourself relax this comprehensively? I gotta say, it takes some effort and planning on my part to let myself get this comfy. Like, I need to have my workday buttoned up and the laundry done and dinner made and, and, and.

Years ago, I was on a hike with a couple of friends in the hills outside of Boulder, Colorado. Suddenly, we heard people shouting about a bear ahead, and there were a couple of guys herding the bear down into a ravine, towards a popular neighborhood. I sprang into action, running towards the guys, running towards the bear (spoiler alert, I didn’t get mauled by the bear). Worried they were pushing the bear away from the forest and into the neighborhood, I yelled at the guys that they were making a huge mistake, told them they were “doing it wrong.”

Except, what I didn’t know was that there were other guys at the bottom of the ravine, herding the bear away from the neighborhood. Effectively, they were pushing the bear in between the hiking trail and the neighborhood, encouraging the furball through noise and hassle to move up the ravine into the wilderness, but away from people on both sides. The good news was that I served as more noise and hassle, the bad news was that I made quite an incorrect assumption.

What does this story have to do with systematic stress reduction?

One of the first keys to stress reduction is to reduce assumptions. Often we are making up stories before we have all of the facts or information about a stressful situation. We assume that the job loss is going to ruin us financially, or that the breakup means we will be alone forever, or that the comment from our loved one means they don’t love us, or, or, or.

The assumptions inflame a difficult situation and make things more stressful, systematically. The next time life gets stressful, check your assumptions. Slow down, check the facts, determine a skillful next action and then assess how it worked. Resist the urge to make fearful, knee jerk reactions (like running towards a bear).

Here’s to a less stressful fall season!