Good Stress Bad Stress

So, I recently watched a bunch of Ted Talks. I definitely recommend looking through them, because they cover a lot of fascinating topics.

One of them got me thinking. (Though I haven't seen it in a while, so I'll try to fill it in as best as I can @_@ )
The woman was talking about exercise, and getting in shape. She talked about how stress can actually prevent you from getting in shape (which probably goes back to survival - your body doesn't want to lose too much weight if there's stressful stuff going on?). And building off of that, doing exercises that are stressful might not actually help you get in shape. For example, running if running isn't fun for you.
In contrast to that, doing relaxing stuff, such as tai chi, or yoga, can help you lose weight. I guess the lack of stress lets your body release extra weight that it might otherwise store during stressful times.

Then during another Ted Talk, they talked about stress. In one study, they found that STRESS IS ONLY DANGEROUS IF YOU THINK IT IS. If you believe that stress will make your body break down and lead to health problems, then it may do exactly that.
But, if you believe that stress just gives your body an extra burst of energy during tough situations, then it's not bad for you. For example, getting pumped during a stage performance (this is one I need to work on - I still freak out for flute solos).
Belief is incredibly powerful this way. I've been reading a lot about it recently. It's pretty awesome. You should try it~

So, I started thinking about these two things. And I came up with this theory.
If you really don't like running, or some exercise, but you do it anyway to get in shape, it might not help that much (because of the bad stress).
BUT if you run because you enjoy it, or you do activities that you enjoy, you will probably not be as stressed. If you enjoy yourself while exercising, it could be better for you.
So, either do stuff you find fun, or find ways to make exercise fun.
You could go the Yowamushi Pedal route, where you sing during the hardest parts of a race.

Sometimes you see people working out with a look of intense anguish on their face. I wouldn't recommend that. It probably makes you really unexcited about working out. Like how my flute teacher told me not to squint my eyes shut when I played weird high notes.
Or you could watch the other people walking around you and laugh at the cute kids (laughing and smiling can do a lot by itself).
Enjoy the scenery.
Or if you're running, pretend like you're Pocahontas, "Eagle help my feet to fly" or Dash, or Quicksilver (Don't stomp when you run, but be light and springy on your feet).
Let yourself relax while you're jogging along, or climbing a rock wall or biking up a steep hill.

So, go out and make sure to have fun~