[Jarwain]

I think stress is like excitement with risk. Something exciting and not stressful probably doesn't have much risk involved. However, if the individual perceives risk, then stress is introduced. Think skydiving. Skydiving can be pretty exciting, but if you perceive a high risk of death or injury then skydiving would be pretty stressful.

If we want to make real life more engaging, perhaps we need to focus on how to reduce risk. Or at least, reduce the risk of a superbad negative outcome.