BY MARCHELLE COLLINS

We are approaching the beginning of mid-terms, holidays, and cold weather. Considering this, it can get easy to lose yourself in all the stress. The only thing stressing does for you is restricts you from living your life freely, and being your best self. Stress can be a barrier from good performance in school, relationships, mental, and physical health. Furthermore, doing things like understanding your priorities, maintaining your own health and life balance, and surrounding yourself with the right people and environments will guide you through this stressful point in life, and allow you to be successful. 

Understanding your priorities can be difficult, despite the fact, it still must  be done. Constructing your future and setting your mind towards it is a good way to start. Asking yourself the questions of: Do you see the people around you in your future? and are you making decisions that will lead to the outcome in your future? Making sure you do extensive research to make sure your future profession is really what you want.

The next step would be cutting off everything that gets in the way of your hopeful future outcome. If it gets in the way of your dreams and goals it is not meant to be in your life. We need control over ourselves to feel at peace and relieve stress. We need guidance to feel in control, knowing how you want to spend your life creates yourself guidance. 

We tend to not understand the importance of creating a quality life balance. 

This is putting in just as much work to benefit your mental, physical well-being. Maintaining yourself in all aspects is what allows self control and success. Your mental health can be kept up by discovering new hobbies, socializing with those you love, meditation and anger management exercises, and finally self care. Your physical health can be kept up by exercising, having routine doctor and dentist checkups, eating healthy, and drinking water. Your physical and mental health both work together to allow functionality, when one is down the other does the same at some point. Finding your balance will prevent issues. 

Another big part of limiting stress is making sure that those around you are encouraging decisions that line up with your future map. Keeping on track can be difficult, but it makes things that much harder if you consistently surround yourself with those who tempt you to do the opposite. Awareness of negative influences in your life helps you understand who and what to distance yourself from in order for you to find success. Despite the good it does for you, it can still be really hard to distance yourself from those influences. You don’t even have to cut them off completely, as long as you simply do not get involved in any situations where there are bad decisions to be made, and if you’re unintentionally put into any incidents, you can always get yourself out by changing the subject, or leaving. 

Fear of stress is a leading cause for most life failures. They spend their lives worried about how stressful the right path is, that they try and find an easier way out, with minimal stress. Managing stress is understanding priorities, surrounding yourself with the right influences, and finding a life balance. Learning how to maintain your stress keeps you from fearing it, and allows you to find success.