We’ve all reached that point where we feel completely overwhelmed with stress. We feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to study, get that project done, write that essay and whatever else we have to do. Then, when our friends start complaining about how stressed they are, we might think to ourselves, “They have no idea. I’m way more stressed than they are.”
It seems like a constant competition of who can be the most stressed. Whether it’s in person, your Snapchat story or another form of communication, we’re all trying to show the world that we are “so busy.”
I’m sure you’ve seen the graphic that depicts college as having three facets: ‘enough sleep’, ‘social life’, and ‘good grades’, and then states that you can only choose two. This alludes to the fact that balancing all three is nearly impossible.
As we sit here complaining about how busy and stressed we are, all we are doing is making ourselves feel more miserable, and why would we want to do that?
Another statement you hear all the time is “time is money.” We hate to waste time in our culture. Everything we do, we do at 100 miles per hour, whether that’s speeding to class or your next meeting, typing an e-mail as fast as you can or responding to texts. We even go as far as to want our phones to run as fast as our minds and our fingers.
The bottom line is that people value stress. When we see someone else complaining about how stressed they are or how much they have going on, we feel this need to compete with them and be more stressed than them.
Shouldn’t we be valuing quality time with our friends or family, or maybe valuing time where we can relax alone, maybe reading a book or writing in a journal.
Of course there are the people who always seem to be really relaxed, don’t complain much and seem to have it all figured out. These are the people that take time for themselves and don’t constantly sweat the little things. So why don’t we look at them and strive for that, rather than making ourselves feel as miserable as we possibly can?
The competition of comparing your stress to someone else’s isn’t something that should be valued. Instead, we should be thankful for the things we are able to accomplish and also give ourselves time to rest and relax when it is needed.
So next time you are loaded with homework and a million other things to do, try to remind yourself that it is still important to take some time for yourself, and ultimately remember that someone does have it worse than you.
Brianna Bassett is a senior journalism major from Castle Rock, Colo.
