Finals = Stress = Self Improvement

So I’m sitting here thinking why everyone is stressing during finals.

(1) Some people stress because they have work to catch up on. (2) Others stress because they are trying to figure out a way to balance time and priorities. (3) Most stress because… well they can. Either something doesn’t go according to plan which shifts their whole balance out of whack. Truth of the matter is: I don’t think any of those are *actual* reasons on why we feel the need to stress towards the end of the term, not to say that those reasons don’t play a part… but just to say they aren’t the *full* reason.

Sure we can stress because we have work to catch up on and here we are “kicking” ourselves… “I could have done better… I could have put aside more time to do this and less time doing that” or “I need more time in the day to get everything done so I can spend more time concentrating on school”… but honestly… I think we stress because we know what we can achieve and we are afraid of falling short of that achievement.

“I could have done better… why didn’t I include that… Why didn’t I think of that… I could have spent more time on this and gotten a better grade”…. all of these are thoughts are us being hard on ourselves, but if you look at these thoughts closely, they’re also on how to improve ourselves… we are always looking for ways of improving ourselves, even when we don’t realize it.

For those that make 100% (or near there) on projects and discussion boards and seminars, we feel wonderful about these accomplishments (even when we surprise ourselves) but then we tend to hold ourselves to such a high standard that if we don’t make that 100% (or near there) on the final… or as a final grade… (or even if our grade lowers by a tenth of a point)… we see ourselves as a failure, why? Because we’ve had 100% all along and we don’t want to end up with anything less than what we know we can do…

I am guilty of all of this. I am constantly looking for ways to improve my grades, my study habits, my communication skills but what it really boils down to is: I’m looking for ways to improve myself. I’m constantly striving to be a better person in school, at home, in relationships, as a friend… but most importantly I am looking for ways to improve myself as a human being… me. I think we all are and this is why we stress so much.

Each one of us can improve ourselves as a person and I think that’s something we all strive to do… finding ways to better ourselves, when in reality… all we need to do, is our best (at any point in time) and just be… ourselves.