Class 1259

Lailah Carrion Sophomore '21
Individual Learning & Motivation 1259
Summer '19
My Outlook on Stress
How It All Started 
     Stress is instantly seen as a negative subject. Many are not educated about the benefits of stress just like I during my childhood. Typical working families motives are to get an education or settle for their life time career at a very early age. I never had an option to voice my opinion towards my family of any subject that included my future and was told to worry about my studies because education is such a must now and days. Sadly though, I was never really told to do was try and enjoy the ride. 
     The meaning of life can have several interpretations but for me, it means to enjoy the little things that most take for granted. Most importantly, it is to do what makes YOU happy. This is why I believe “The Upside of Stress” by Dr. Kelly McGonigal can help individuals learn that stress isn’t so bad to have after all. 
Goals That This Book Helped Me Accomplished 
Financial Debates 
     Growing up, my parents were never together. During their relationship which was before I came into the picture, my father always had the mindset that the money makes the world go round. Whereas my mother was, and still is, a typical middle class woman who is now content with her life at the age of 43. Today, my father is now apart of the upper class and plans to retire before the age of 50. Having split parents that are at the opposite ends of the spectrum with their finances can be pretty stressful. I say this because one of them is always nagging me NOT to work because I have my whole life ahead. While the other is saying “you have to work and save for the future.” My goal during this course was to find that balance.
     During the past few months, I have been trying to consciously think about my financial decisions  because of my new college life. What I have noticed between a want versus a need, especially with having very different parents, is by how often do I use the subject of matter. For example, do I see myself doing this in the next 10 years? However, there needs to be a balance of benefits that comes out of continuous hard work. If not, then what is the point? Summer classes have just been a drag for me because it has been a routine everyday but also because of the lack of self care. Now that I have realized this drawback, I have started to make better decisions with no regrets.There is no need to drown oneself into a self conscious whole just because you have not accomplished a long term goal. None of the less, this does not mean you shouldn’t be rewarded for conquering the short ones either.

When Things Don’t Go According To Plan 

     During my reading of “The Upside of Stress”, I believe there were 3 key points the author made about how to handle this particular situation. This includes using frustration as energy to figure out a different approach, realizing that stress is a given in life and will never go away, and finally, stress is only harmful if you personally believe that it is. 
     One of the best experiments that I believe was conducted efficiently was how a company worker had the opportunity for a promotion and used her anxiety as a source of excitement. The way she used her energy was through her interview. She later got the promotion because she showed more confidence in her presentation than her fellow coworkers. This experiment truly represents that once you start trying to find the positives in any situation, the more resilient you become. 
     I personally have been trying to use meditation, moderate exercise and finding new interests, in this case reading, as ways to cope with stress. The reason why I felt these strategies could have benefited the most is because I become overwhelmed very easily. Meditation is a way to ease stress since it is a given in everyone's life. The few minutes that I have with meditating gives me time to reflect on my daily decision making and help me find peace within them. The cool thing about the app “Headspace” that I used was that it has different options for how long you want to mediate,  ranging up to 10 mins for beginners. Also, a preference in a voice who you want to personally guide you into meditation.

    This is honestly my favorite quote that I just happened to stumble upon the week I was going into my first year of college. It has been my goal for over the past year to live up to this.  

     Where as finding energy with anxiety can help with my amount of exercise that I try to do on a daily basis. Even though I have not gone to the gym averaging 5 days out of the week. I have still managed to still lose weight. Now I am only 7 pounds away from my goal compared to a few weeks ago when we started this project, I was around 14 away. The reasoning for my weight loss I believe was STRESS eating. This included snacking at work, always feeling the need to be full with every meal, snacking while doing homework and even just watching youtube videos. It is so easy to do and everyone does it.
 
My last personal goal that I wanted to accomplish throughout the course was reading a book for interest. I was never a reader growing up and it has always been a drawback for me even today. I have been reading “We Are Okay” by Nina LaCourand and it has already made me cry twice. Everyone needs to find a hobby that can really help their mind escape from reality. It might sound scary but, it is ok. Happy lives do include stress. 
     Embracing your stress has more pros than to keep it all inside and I believe that is how most of us decide to deal with it. People with happy lives include stress and I even forget that. Even though I am only about half way through my book, it is still process. This is what I believe many college students need to understand. That making process is truly what matters. 
Final Thoughts    
     This book has really showed me that there are other alternatives to looking at your life. This may sound cliche but, life is really too short to allow stress to take over anyone. No one can live a fulfilled life unless they find happiness within themselves and to enjoy the present. Worrying
about past mistakes and what the future holds consistently will never bring anyone satistifation at the end of the day. Yes you can never get away from it, but looking at the upside of stress is really how you’re supposed to live life to the fullest.
Image result for live life to the fullest quote

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