Sunday, October 28, 2007
I understand that there are things that are very stressful in life - family tragedy, loss of partner, moving, new job. And, apparently, we all seem to understand that those things can lead to some stressful moments. What I don't understand is why we still continue to do things that exacerbate the stress. For Pete's sake, stop it. I have a very difficult time dealing with people who cannot focus enough to get the job at hand done. When it comes to stress, I tend to use it to my advantage.
During my junior year in college, I was taking three of the most difficult Electrical Engineering Courses of the entire curriculum. They were always held back-to-back-to-back. It was well-known that this was done to separate the contenders from the pretenders. And it did. The moment of truth for most came during the midterms. The exams were held in the same lecture hall, on the same day, back-to-back-to-back. By the third exam, I had confused material and began using the formulas from the first exam for the third. I realized it after I handed in my exam. I was spent. I was angry. I was devastated.
I headed back to my dorm. It was a dark, cold, and wet night. I dropped off my backpack in my room and cried a little. I changed my clothes and headed for the student cafeteria where I ordered a large order of buffalo wings and a large order of cheese fries. While shoving it all down my gullet, my friend Lucila spotted me and sat next to me. I told her my story. She said that it would all turn out fine. I was not comforted. She asked me if I was still going to work out later. I responded, "Hell yeah. I can't be stupid AND fat."
And there you have it. I learned how to channel stress energy into productive energy. Get a workout in. I've kept the 40 lbs. of fat off. And I've learned how to deal with stressful situations. I don't always go to the gym but I do tend to do more productive things when I am in a stressful situation. I don't understand why others have a hard time doing it.
Actually, what I can't understand is why others do things that make their stressful situations worse. For Pete's sake, STOP! Later.
During my junior year in college, I was taking three of the most difficult Electrical Engineering Courses of the entire curriculum. They were always held back-to-back-to-back. It was well-known that this was done to separate the contenders from the pretenders. And it did. The moment of truth for most came during the midterms. The exams were held in the same lecture hall, on the same day, back-to-back-to-back. By the third exam, I had confused material and began using the formulas from the first exam for the third. I realized it after I handed in my exam. I was spent. I was angry. I was devastated.
I headed back to my dorm. It was a dark, cold, and wet night. I dropped off my backpack in my room and cried a little. I changed my clothes and headed for the student cafeteria where I ordered a large order of buffalo wings and a large order of cheese fries. While shoving it all down my gullet, my friend Lucila spotted me and sat next to me. I told her my story. She said that it would all turn out fine. I was not comforted. She asked me if I was still going to work out later. I responded, "Hell yeah. I can't be stupid AND fat."
And there you have it. I learned how to channel stress energy into productive energy. Get a workout in. I've kept the 40 lbs. of fat off. And I've learned how to deal with stressful situations. I don't always go to the gym but I do tend to do more productive things when I am in a stressful situation. I don't understand why others have a hard time doing it.
Actually, what I can't understand is why others do things that make their stressful situations worse. For Pete's sake, STOP! Later.
