When I’m working I can be at or beyond my current limits of skill and ability.
That’s stressful. It could be a happy stress or a fearful stress.
Or I can be operating below current limits of skill and capacity.
That’s not stressful. That’s effortless. Calm.
If I operate at or above current capabilities, I grow. I am learning something new. I’m getting stronger. So it’s good to be there. It’s fun and invigorating to learn something new, to develop a new capability.
The stress comes from external factors. What are the stakes? Is someone relying on me to get them out of a jam? Am I imposing arbitrary expectations on myself, for example to develop mastery in a new field in an impossibly short time?
I’m going to aim for awareness in selecting projects to work on. Try to operate below my limits at all times when advising people. Expand my limits by writing and learning. Then backfill into those limits by doing projects.