The story is told in Greek mythology of Procrustes, a man who had a house on the road required for travel to become a hero. Procrustes would invite travelers in for a pleasant meal and a night's rest in his special bed. He would describe his bed by saying it would exactly match whoever slept in it. What he did not tell travelers is he would stretch them on the rack if they were too short, or cut off their feet if they were too long.
You may be wondering how this story relates to stress management. Many times we have stress from trying to fit the expectations others have of us. We feel that we are stretched if we are too short for their expectations or that we are minimized if we are too tall, too much for them. This type of stress can be easily reduced by becoming aware of our own individual strengths and weaknesses, and realizing that we are created exactly as we need to be, not to fit a mold for someone else. Changing our thoughts may be difficult at first but can be helpful for stress reduction.
