Stress is the Silent Killer
“Stress is like high blood pressure; a silent killer that rusts you from the inside out until you’re nothing more than a husk of whatever it is you were before stress devoured you.”
Caroline Kepnes
I have written several articles about stress and its devastating effects on our physical and mental health. our the years, I firmly believe that stress is a silent killer and I have said so many times. On this page, you’ll find a list of stress quotes by famous as well as not-so-famous people, giving their opinion about stress, its effects and what we can do to reduce our stress levels.
More recently, I’m reading a lot about “niksen” as a possible antidote to stress, and I have to admit, there might well be something in it. I am so taken with the idea that it is now an integral part of my Rediscover Your Natural Rhythm on the Camino de Santiago stress management retreats.
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
– John Lubbock
What is “Niksen?”
Niksen is a Dutch concept that translates roughly to “doing nothing” or “purposeful idleness.” It refers to the practice of deliberately engaging in activities that serve no particular purpose – simply allowing yourself to be idle without feeling guilty about it or trying to be productive.
“It turns out that all these years, amid this jumble of goals, the Dutch have been sitting on the solution: niksen, the art of doing nothing. It made the news around the world, which in turn made the headlines in the Netherlands.”
Maartje Willems, The Lost Art of Doing Nothing: How the Dutch Unwind with Niksen
Unlike meditation, which involves focused attention, or mindfulness, which requires present-moment awareness, niksen is about letting your mind wander freely. It might involve sitting and staring out a window, lying in a hammock, or just daydreaming without any specific goal or structure.
How can “Niksen” reduce stress?
The practice works as a stress reducer in several ways. When we’re constantly busy or mentally stimulated, our nervous system remains in an activated state. Niksen allows your body and mind to shift into a more relaxed mode, similar to how sleep helps restore us. This mental downtime gives your brain space to process experiences and emotions naturally, rather than suppressing them due to constant activity.
Regular periods of doing nothing can also help break the cycle of chronic stress and busyness that many people experience. It challenges the cultural pressure to always be productive and can reduce feelings of burnout. Additionally, when your mind is allowed to wander without direction, it often leads to creative insights and problem-solving that wouldn’t emerge during focused work.
The key to niksen is accepting the discomfort that might initially arise from not being productive. Many people find it challenging at first because we’re so accustomed to constant stimulation. Starting with just 5-10 minutes of purposeful idleness can be a gentle way to incorporate this practice into daily life.
How to “Niksen”
Before Your Niksen Practice: Take a moment to check in with yourself right now. How are you feeling in this moment? What thoughts are racing through your mind? What does your body feel like – tense, relaxed, somewhere in between?
Write down:
- What you’ve been busy with lately
- Any guilt or resistance you feel about the idea of “doing nothing”
- What you hope might happen when you allow yourself this time
For the next 10-20 minutes, give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing productive. This isn’t meditation or mindfulness – there’s no “right” way to do this. You might:
- Sit by a window and let your gaze wander
- Lie down and watch clouds or ceiling patterns
- Sit in your garden or on a bench and simply exist
- Stare at a wall and let your mind go wherever it wants
The only rule: No phones, no tasks, no goals. Just be.
After Your Niksen Practice, reflect on:
What did you notice?
- What thoughts drifted through your mind?
- How did your body feel during this time?
- Did you experience any resistance, boredom, or surprising moments?
What emerged naturally?
- Did any insights, memories, or creative ideas surface without you trying?
- What emotions came up, if any?
- Did you notice anything about your breathing, tension, or energy levels?
How do you feel now?
- Compare how you feel now to how you felt before this practice
- What, if anything, has shifted in your perspective or mood?
- Do you feel any different about the concept of “doing nothing”?
Consider: How might you create more space for niksen in your daily life? What would it look like to regularly give yourself permission to exist without purpose or productivity?
Commitment to yourself: Write one small way you could incorporate more purposeful idleness into your week ahead.
Remember: The goal isn’t to have profound realisations or feel completely zen. Sometimes niksen feels boring – and that’s perfectly fine. The practice is in the allowing, not in the achieving.
Stress Quotes
I got a bit distracted, I admit, so let’s get back on track. Here are the stress quotes I promised:
“Toxic relationships are dangerous to your health; they will literally kill you. Stress shortens your lifespan. Even a broken heart can kill you. There is an undeniable mind-body connection. Your arguments and hateful talk can land you in the emergency room or in the morgue. You were not meant to live in a fever of anxiety; screaming yourself hoarse in a frenzy of dreadful, panicked fight-or-flight that leaves you exhausted and numb with grief. You were not meant to live like animals tearing one another to shreds. Don’t turn your hair grey. Don’t carve a roadmap of pain into the sweet wrinkles on your face. Don’t lie in the quiet with your heart pounding like a trapped, frightened creature. For your own precious and beautiful life, and for those around you — seek help or get out before it is too late. This is your wake-up call!”
– Bryant McGill
“No beating yourself up. That’s not allowed. Be patient with yourself. It took you years to form the bad habits of thought that you no longer want. It will take a little
time to form new and better ones. But I promise you this: Even a slight move in this direction will bring you some peace. The more effort you apply to it, the faster you’ll find your bliss, but you’ll experience rewards immediately.”
– Holly Mosier
“If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person.”
– Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“The mind can go either direction under stress—toward positive or toward negative: on or off. Think of it as a spectrum whose extremes are unconsciousness at the negative end and hyperconsciousness at the positive end. The way the mind will lean under stress is strongly influenced by training.”
– Frank Herbert
“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time.”
– Leonard Bernstein
“In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.”
– Fred Rogers
“One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren’t enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.”
– Viggo Mortensen
“Doing something that is productive is a great way to alleviate emotional stress. Get your mind doing something that is productive.”
– Ziggy Marley
“Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is… The only problem in your life is your mind’s resistance to life as it unfolds. ”
– Dan Millman
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”
– William James
“We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday’s burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.”
– John Newton
“It’s a good idea always to do something relaxing prior to making an important decision in your life.”
– Paulo Coelho
“Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there.’
– Eckhart Tolle
“Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.”
– Hans Selye
“Remember that stress doesn’t come from what’s going on in your life. It comes from your thoughts about what’s going on in your life.”
– Andrew Bernstein
“There are thousands of causes for stress, and one antidote to stress is self-expression. That’s what happens to me every day. My thoughts get off my chest, down my sleeves and onto my pad.”
– Garson Kanin
“Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face.”
– Nelson DeMille
“You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.”
– Wayne Dyer
“Breath is the power behind all things…. I breathe in and know that good things will happen.”
– Tao Porchon-Lynch
“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.”
– David Mamet
“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started.”
– David Allen
“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”
– Leo F. Buscaglia
“Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organise your life around it.”
– Brian Tracy
“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”
– Lou Holtz
“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”
– Hermann Hesse
“These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.”
– Najwa Zebian
“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”
– Oprah Winfrey
“Don’t try to force anything. Let life be a deep let-go. God opens millions of flowers every day without forcing their buds.”
– Osho
“The truth is that stress doesn’t come from your boss, your kids, your spouse, traffic jams, health challenges, or other circumstances. It comes from your thoughts about your circumstances.”
– Andrew Bernstein
“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.”
– Elbert Hubbard
“Don’t believe every worried thought you have. Worried thoughts are notoriously inaccurate.”
– Renee Jain
”People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.”
– George Bernard Shaw
“In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life—no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.”
– James Allen
“Just when you feel you have no time to relax, know that this is the moment you most need to make time to relax.”
– Matt Haig
“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.”
– Hans Selye
“Times of stress are also times that are signals for growth, and if we use adversity properly, we can grow through adversity.”
– Abraham Twerski
“How we perceive a situation and how we react to it is the basis of our stress. If you focus on the negative in any situation, you can expect high stress levels. However, if you try and see the good in the situation, your stress levels will greatly diminish.”
– Catherine Pulsifer
“A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety. “
– Aesop
“If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you’ll die a lot of times.”
– Dean Smith
“Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.”
– Henry Ward Beecher
“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”
– Peter Marshall
“Rule number one is, don’t sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it’s all small stuff.”
– Robert Eliot
“Every once in a while, do you just like to take your time with what you’re doing?”
– Fred Rogers
“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.”
– Jean Shinoda Bolen
“90% of what you’re stressing about right now won’t even matter a year from now. Take a deep breath.”
– Mel Robbins
“Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can.”
– Louisa May Alcott
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
– Anne Lamott
“Stress and confusion come from being busy. Peace and clarity come from slowing down and stilling your waters.”
– Maxime Lagacé
“There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by myself.”
– Brian Andreas
“If you feel “burnout” setting in, if you feel demoralised and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself.”
– Dalai Lama
“Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – all forms of fear – are caused by too much future, and not enough presence.”
– Eckhart Tolle
“When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go.”
– Catherine Pulsifer
“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
– Eleanor Brownn
“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”
– Edward Stanley
“The high value put upon every minute of time, the idea of hurry-hurry as the most important objective of living, is unquestionably the most dangerous enemy of joy.”
– Hermann Hesse
“Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace.”
– Joan Borysenko
“We should always be asking ourselves: “Is this something that is, or is not, in my control?”
– Epictetus
“At such times, the heart of man turns instinctively towards his Maker. In prosperity, and whenever there is nothing to injure or make him afraid, he remembers Him not, and is ready to defy Him; but place him in the midst of dangers, cut him off from human aid, let the grave open before him, then it is, in the time of his tribulation, that the scoffer and unbelieving man turns to God for help, feeling there is no other hope, or refuge, or safety, save in his protecting arm.”
– Solomon Northup
“Self-care is so much more than a beauty regimen or an external thing you do. It has to start within your heart to know what you need to navigate your life. A pedicure doesn’t last, but meditating every day does.”
– Carrie-Anne Moss
“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
– Dolly Parton
“To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.”
– Jill Bolte Taylor
“There are two medicines for all ills: time and silence.”
– Alexander Dumas
“Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is. The only problem in your life is your mind’s resistance to life as it unfolds.”
– Dan Millman
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
– Maya Angelou
“When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs and habits – anything that kept me small. My judgement called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving.”
– Kim McMillen
“When you feel overwhelmed, start eliminating all the non-essential things from your life. Clarity brings calm.”
– Darius Foroux
“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.”
– George Burns
“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.”
– Bertrand Russell
“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”
– Albert Einstein
“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.”
– Winston Churchill
“In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers.”
– Fred Rogers
“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down. “
– Lily Tomlin
“We get such a kick out of looking forward to pleasures and rushing ahead to meet them that we can’t slow down to enjoy them when they come.”
– Alan Watts
“Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.”
– Kahlil Gibran
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger
“What is hard work? It takes strength, energy, and stress to truly care about others enough to place oneself last, but it is easy to wrap oneself up and selfishly scramble on the heads of others.”
– Criss Jami
“Each moment of worry, anxiety or stress represents lack of faith in miracles, for they never cease.”
– T.F. Hodge
“More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.”
– Roy T. Bennett
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
– Confucius
Finding Peace in the Pause
While inspirational quotes about stress can offer us moments of clarity and perspective, true relief often comes not from doing more, but from doing less. The Dutch practice of niksen reminds us that sometimes the most radical act of self-care is simply allowing ourselves to exist without purpose or productivity.
In our quote-filled, advice-saturated world, we’re constantly seeking the next insight or strategy to manage our stress. Yet Niksen suggests that the answer might be refreshingly simple: permission to stop seeking altogether. When we create space for purposeful idleness, we give our minds the freedom to process, our bodies the chance to restore, and our spirits room to breathe.
The wisdom found in stress quotes becomes more than just words when we pair it with the practice of doing nothing. Consider carrying one meaningful quote with you into your next niksen session—not as something to analyse or implement, but simply as a gentle companion while you allow your mind to wander. You might find that the deepest insights come not from reading about peace, but from actually experiencing it in those quiet, unproductive moments.
In a culture that glorifies busyness, both insight-giving stress quotes and the practice of niksen offer us the same radical invitation: to pause, to breathe, and to remember that our worth isn’t measured by our productivity. Sometimes the most profound thing we can do for our stress is absolutely nothing at all.