Dude Calm Down

Student leaders are undoubtedly some of the most burnt out people in college. We have far too much to do and not nearly enough time to do it. Between class and homework, a social life, staying in good health, and all our extracurriculars, there just aren't enough hours in the day (or night!) to accomplish what we need to get done every day. This lack of time stresses out even the mentally toughest of us. However, I think it's vitally important to not let that stress get the best of you for several reasons. First, if I weren't so heavily medicated as a result of my wisdom tooth removal surgery Monday, I'd bother finding a study saying stress decreased productivity. Less productivity is exactly what we don't want. Additionally, seeing us stressed out certainly bothers our proteges and underlings, because if the cool, calm, and collected leader is strung out, then something must be terribly wrong. We must find our own ways of calming down and relaxing. Here are some of my favorite methods:

- Deep breaths are always good in a pinch. If you're forced to make a quick decision, a deep breath buys you time and relaxes your muscles and brain or something. When someone comes to you with an issue, that deep breath will relax you, which in turn relaxes whoever has the problem, and you're both better off!

- Listening to music. If you're alone in your room, office, or whatever, I find music to be a great stress reliever, as I'm sure many of you do.

- Staying positive. Just knowing that you'll come out of whatever mess you're in alive is always a comforting thought. You've been through harder times and gotten through them fine. Last week I had finals for my summer quarter. I had to write a 10 page paper by Thursday morning. Tuesday morning I had a final, after which I started writing my paper. It's hard to look at a blank document and know you have to fill up a ton of white space in not a whole lot of time, but looking forward to the feeling of accomplishment you get when you're done is enough motivation to slog through it. For what it's worth, I wrote those ten pages in about six and a half hours, a phenomenal pace by my standards.

- One of my absolute favorite things to do in life is complain. I'm serious! I love finding someone who doesn't mind listening to me blabber on about my worries for five or ten minutes because I always feel a little bit better when I get what's bothering me off my chest. If nothing else, it gets me to realize how silly my troubles are compared to what other people both around me and around the world are going through. Oh no, I have to write one measly paper that I've been putting off for weeks in one day. At least I have a warm bed, fresh water, and a loving family, which is more than a lot of people here on Earth can say. If we have the ability to be student leaders, that means there are probably lots of things going right for us, and we should be grateful.

I have to be missing a ton of good ways to relax. Help me, and other readers, by leaving your suggestions in the comments!

Comments

[Tom Krieglstein]

Anytime I'm stressed I like to take a walk, or workout. Both of which allow me to clear my mind and think about the problems in a different way.

[Tania]

Remembering that you'll get through it and realizing you're pretty much in the lap of luxury (comparatively) works really well for me. And breathing... when I can remember to.

I also like to reminding myself that everything is voluntary, and I am choosing what I'm doing now, so why not enjoy it?

My boyfriend's dad's technique is thinking, "I could be hit by a truck tomorrow." And that works wonders for his stress.

P.S. I dig the pic.

[Brandon]

I have always tried to look at my problems as being worth the effort. I am excited to begin working, and sometimes it seems that I will never get out of school, but I know that I will get so much out of my career, the stress I go through now will provide a great future for me. When things seem out of balance and I feel as if I am going to fall, I realize it is a problem of perception. Of course it helps immensely to talk about this stuff with someone else, it makes the big picture easier to see.