Putting Stress Into Perspective
Happy second semester! Cue the banners and confetti, we’re coming around the bend to a nervous breakdown. I mean, that’s what we always do. Breaking down is all just part of it, right? Well, traditionally, yes, but it shouldn’t be. Let’s take a look at each problem we have, and then put it into perspective, school oriented or not. If we do that, maybe we won’t have such a strong penchant for anxiety.
Pick a problem, preferably the biggest one you are currently pushing your way through. Now, look out a window and direct your attention upward. That’s the sky. What’s encouraging about that sky, is that it won’t topple over and cave in on itself if for some reason your qualms centered around your biggest problem turn out to be true. So, that’s a really good thing. No matter how big you think your problem could potentially be, it won’t be big enough to cause the disintegration of the sky. At least, I wouldn’t assume so. We should also acknowledge the simple fact that your problem will not turn out to be as big of an issue as you currently think it is. Every time you lose yourself in reveries of the future, good and bad, you are always lying to yourself. The truth is that nothing is what you think it will be. If you’re sitting here right now, bouncing your knee at the prospect of a presentation you have to give going terribly asunder, you can stop bouncing your knee and stop tapping your fingers on the nearest hard surface. It won’t be the fiasco you’re picturing and torturing yourself with. That being said, I am only telling you not to worry, I am not telling you to disregard the importance of preparation. It could still go poorly, it just probably won’t go as poorly as you’re anticipating. Study, practice, and prepare, but stop worrying so much. Additionally, preparing helps to ease the mind naturally. When you feel ready for something, you aren’t nervous about it. So, do your work, and try not to assume that everything is going to go wrong, because it won’t.
The next thing I want to touch on is a cliche. You know the old adage: Everything happens for a reason. How outdone. So outdone in fact, that those words have probably lost all meaning on you. However, this broken record is irrevocably accurate. One of the biggest concepts I believe in is fate. Life has multitudinous pathways, all of which have the potential to be trekked by you. Amongst the various pathways, is one that has been cultivated specifically for you. So, let’s say something goes wrong and your worst nightmare has come true. Scary? Probably. Necessary? Most definitely. If your worst nightmare comes true, then your worst nightmare was meant to come true. Loads of people don’t believe in fate, but I inquire, why not? If something goes wrong, don’t play the victim, it isn’t becoming. When something happens differently than the way you had it played out in your head, simply rise to the occasion. Accept the fact that it happened and that it happened for a reason. Now, try to pick a piece of goodness out of it and walk farther along that pathway of yours.
When we start to think about the vast universe, we view ourselves as tiny little specks, barely discernible among the stars and galaxies shining far brighter than us and spanning far wider. Inside of the tiny specks that we are, is where our problems reside. Please don’t feel the universe collapsing around you if your problem manifests. The universe isn’t collapsing.