1. It Gives You the Motivation to Act

Having stress in your life can give you the motivation to do something positive. For example, if you're under too much stress at work you might realise that you're not happy in your job, and that you should look for an alternative that you enjoy more. You could end up with a career you love, rather than a job you endure.

2. It Shows You What You Need to Change in Your Life

Stress can also show you what changes you need to make in your life. Perhaps you don't have a good balance between your career and leisure life, or you've taken on too many responsibilities. If you're finding things difficult to handle, you should work out what you need to discard or change.

3. You Won't Get Bored

Imagine your life if you had everything you wanted, and nothing ever went wrong. Wouldn't it be rather dull? Stress can be a useful balance that allows us to appreciate the more enjoyable times. Without it, there would be no appreciation of how much we have that is good, and we'd end up bored (and probably rather stressed!).

4. It Reminds You You're Human

Do you try to take on too much and be Superwoman? Stress reminds us that we are human and need to step back every now and then. We can only fit so much into our lives; if we take on too much then something has to give. If you get stressed, let it be a lesson that you're only human and shouldn't try to be Superwoman.

5. It Helps You do Better

Stress can actually be a very good thing if you're competing against others. Athletes need stress to help their performance; if they weren't on edge they wouldn't do very well! The same goes for when you are doing exams; the stress encourages you to work fast and do the best you can in the short time available to you.

6. It Helps You to Complete Tasks

A certain amount of stress can also help you at work. If you didn't have deadlines, you might be tempted to keep putting work off. But if you know that clients are expecting work by a certain date or your boss needs reports on his desk by the end of the day, you'll work hard to complete these tasks in time.

7. It Shows You That You Can Cope

If you're not that confident about your ability to cope with stress, you might worry about any stressful situations you'll be facing. But when you get through them intact, you could actually feel better. You'll have seen that you can in fact cope. Since nobody ever has a life that's free from stressful situations, it can be beneficial to know that you're able to survive intact.

The important factor is whether you can handle the stress you're under. If it's too much, then you need to take action. How do you cope when you're under stress - do you have any useful tips?