If Syrian athlete Yusra Mardini had surrendered to her reality, she would have most likely died by now. Instead, she became an Olympic swimmer.

Mardini was 13 years old when civil war broke out in Syria a decade ago. She lost her home and several friends, but found solace, and a measure of safety, in swimming.

“The pool was the safest place for me,” Mardini said. “It was terrifying to go outside. The pool was the only thing that didn’t change.”

But Mardini lost even that sanctuary. The war forced her to flee Syria. She made her way to Beirut, Turkey, and Greece before settling in Germany. She continued her training, however, and was named to the first ever Olympic Refugee Team at the 2016 Rio Games.

Though competing in the Olympics had been Mardini’s dream, she felt great ambivalence when it became reality. “Everyone is going to think that I didn’t earn my spot,” she recalled thinking.

But as Mardini entered the stadium for the opening ceremony, she shifted her reality. She was no longer a refugee to be pitied, she told herself, but rather a powerful symbol of hope for displaced people across many countries.

“It wasn’t only about me anymore,” she told the Now at Work audience. “I was representing refugees around the world.”

Changing realities, however, doesn’t always require big acts but rather quick moments of contemplation, Huffington said.

Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post and other businesses, launched Thrive Global in 2016 to provide companies online tools to improve mental health.

The pandemic has prompted people “reevaluate life and look at what really matters,” such as mental health, she said. To that effect, Huffington said, people can learn how to balance life and work, “to be productive without suffering.”

At work, Huffington said, people should frequently take quick breaks throughout the day to recharge, whether to look at photos of family and friends, breathe, take a walk, or listen to music.

Neuroscience tells us such activities beat back stress, depression, and anxiety, she said. “Stress is unavoidable,” Huffington said, “but cumulative stress is avoidable.”