If, as Eckhart Tolle says, stress is being “here” when you want to be “there,” then – when it comes to mastering stress – you have two choices in life:
1) You can choose instead to actually want to be “here” and refocus on finding things you can enjoy in the present moment, in your present circumstance and in your present space. When you choose to enjoy being “here” by being present in the moment (the “be here now” philosophy, aka “mindfulness”) – you will often (not always) find previously unknown wonders and moments of joy, learning and growth in the space called “here.”
or . . .
2) You can spend more time getting “there” by improving yourself, growing, changing and letting go of whatever is holding you back from “there” and keeping you stuck “here.”
If you want the real secret of stress mastery, it is this: choose to be “here” and make the best of whatever “here” is, while simultaneously developing the skills, the attitudes and the mindset that will transport you to the “there” you dream of.