Pressure is defined by my gal Merriam as “the burden of physical or mental distress.” Sound about right?
We’re students. We face pressure in a multitude of ways. Classes. Classes bring intense pressure. Pressure to do your homework, to study at home, to pay attention to class. Or even to just show up to class.
But outside of school, life gets no easier. What if you have a job? Now you get to juggle work (sometimes a job that doesn’t pay well) with school. Everyone needs a job, for the most part.
So now you have classes and a job. What about a love interest? There’s pressure there, too. Pressure to say the right thing, or just to listen to your partner’s issues. I mean I’m sorry you had a rough day, but you weren’t the only one around here.
“The burden of physical or mental distress.” What about the “s” word, stress? Merriam defines it as a “constraining force or influence.” Just for help, constraining is defined as “to force by imposed stricture, restriction or limitation.” It hurts you, doesn’t it?
Stress isn’t good either. Pressure on you causes stress. But pressure can also be a good thing.
Pressure to succeed, to improve. To see something you are doing, grasp the flaws and then twist them into positives. Not everyone can do that. But the first step is wanting to do that.
We all understand this. Practice makes perfect. Trust me, Peyton Manning isn’t Peyton Manning just because. It takes time.
Working hard really isn’t the secret either. If you work tirelessly on the wrong thing, what could did that do? But knowing what needs to be better and being industrious about it is the secret. Don’t be complacent.
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of this nation, said that “far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Why? Not to put words in his mouth, but probably because the end result can be exhilarating. That success will make every solitary drop of sweat worth it.
Indolence is hard to fight. Why? Because it’s more fun to play football on the PS3 than it is to study, that’s why. I know it, you know it, that guy over there knows it too. But doesn’t that make choosing priorities pivotal? My comrade-in-print, Taurin Hickman, said just last week that virtual Chad Ochocinco wasn’t coming first anymore, the school work was. I think he has the right idea there.
I hope, as the old saying goes, that he and I can take our own advice.