Actually, the habits we fall back on under stress tend to be maladaptive coping mechanisms that have at their root limiting beliefs about ourselves. Mindfulness is great, but it is really just a bandaid unless the internal root causes of our stress response are identified. The key to less stress is to uncover our limiting beliefs, their sources, and the triggers that activate them. That gives us the ability to make choices other than our typical reactions. This is completely achievable, and the result is actually expending less energy than in a stress response.