Stress. A wonderful thing.
Most people would take that statement as a sarcastic joke; however, it's a reality that many do not realize at first. Stress can keep you on task, and when managed correctly, can help you greatly.
Many people equate the presence of stress to overworking yourself, and while this can be true, you certainly do not have to sacrifice doing what you love in order to manage stress. Think back to the last time you were stressed. You probably felt a tightening in your chest or a feeling that you were lost. Even still, you probably also remember being focused and alert on the task you had a finite time to complete. Stress pushes you to complete an objective. As long as you treat it as your friend, stress can help you stay on task and achieve your goals.
Think of stress as a unicorn running full speed toward your kidney. A magnificent creature, but you best get the fu*k out of there. Now add a swarm of flaming bears behind that unicorn. Suddenly, the stress-unicorn isn't so scary. As long as you stay ahead of its horn, you are safe from it AND the fire-bears. That's basically what you need to do with stress. Focus on it driving you towards a goal rather than thinking of it as your impending doom. Luckily for you, you don't have to run or exert any physical effort to stay on top of stress.
Next time you feel good ol' Twinkle Cupcake coming for your kidney, take a deep breath and list out the steps of your task. Cutting your job into smaller parts allows you to focus and prepare yourself to work. Doing this every time you feel stressed is liked reminding your calves that they have the strength to get you away from this strange, fairy-tale based onslaught.
Another great strategy to managing stress is to work in actual breaks into your work. Every hour deserves at least fifteen minutes of mindless nothingness. Who says you can't backflip onto Twinkle Cupcake and ride it out for a bit? ... Well, Twinkle Cupcake does. She only dishes out fifteen-minute rides. After that, you're thrown to the fire bears, and we don't want that do we? Jump right back at it and get the work flowin'. That magical unicorn ride will be plenty to get you back in focus.
When it comes down to it, simply being aware that stress is a good thing can start someone in the right direction. That's what this short piece intends to do. Realize that the drive you have can be sustained without the need to bust an aneurysm. You got this. Even if you have to swim to class...Metaphorically, of course.
