Wednesday Wisdom: Don't Stress What You Can't Change!

 

You know how people say “Learn from my mistakes”? Well that’s what this is. I’ll share some of the lessons I’ve learned along the way so hopefully others can learn from them. I may only be 25 but I like to think I’ve lived a lot for my age. 

 

Today’s Lesson Learned: 

 

Don’t stress over things that you can’t change!

 

As with any life lesson, this is 100% easier said than done. You oversleep and start to panic about being late to work/class. You hit submit on an assignment and then you realize that you forgot to add something in one of the paragraphs. Perhaps while trying to make a joke you wind up offending your partner or friend. You have that initial moment of screaming four-letter words silently to yourself. You’re panicked. You’re in flight-or-fight mode. 

 

Now what? 

 

The thing that helps me take a deep breath and relax is to think of the saying “Shit happens.” I once had an undergrad philosophy professor base his entire syllabus around this saying. Essentially, there are some things that one just can’t control or change. 

 

If you’ve already turned your assignment in, it’s done. You can’t un-turn it in. If you oversleep you can’t magically add those minutes back. If you offend someone, you can’t un-speak those words or undo those actions. Stressing over those things leads to “what ifs”.

 

Why worry about “what ifs”? The stress will get you nowhere (Trust me, I know). Instead of worrying about what may happen or what could happen try these things: 

 

If something has already happened: 

·         Try to figure out what was the reason that this happened. Was it something you forgot? Was it a technical error? Did you forget something was a sensitive topic for someone?

·         Think about how you can prevent this from happening again in the future. 

·         If you realize you’re going to be late, let someone know ASAP.

·         If you’ve already submitted an assignment, consider emailing the professor (this won’t work with every professor but usually ones who don’t mind will let you know up front their leniency policy).

 

If something is going to happen:

·         Figure out what you think may happen and why.

·         Is there anything you can do to prepare for this? Can you alert anyone? Do you need to get anything documented (doctors note etc.).

·         Mentally prepare yourself for any consequences. 

 

Nobody is perfect so why waste time trying to be? We are all human. We all make mistakes. That being said, there are always consequences for our actions. All we can do is try our best and own up to when we mess up and accept whatever consequences come our way. Besides, I heard a rumor that stress gives you wrinkles and who wants to accidentally create those? :)

 

~Tea