Focusing on the Positive

As the first quarter of the year has already come and gone and Midterm Exams rapidly approaching, it's hard not to be stressed out! Junior year has definitely been very stressful for me and has exceeded my expectations of exactly how much work I have to do. For reference, I am taking 2 AP classes this year (U.S. History and Literature) and 2 honors classes (Pre-Calculus and Biology). For comparison, I took no AP classes and 2 honors classes last year so this has been quite an adjustment for me! To say I have been stressed lately is an understatement and one of my goals for the new quarter is to stress less. This doesn't mean that I'm going to work less hard on school (quite the opposite really) but I am hoping to work just as hard but eliminate the unnecessary stresses. All of this stress has definitely taken its toil on me this quarter and I really want to work to cut the unneeded stress I place on myself out!

A big factor for stress for me personally is positivity or the opposite, negativity. When working on big assignments or studying for big tests, it is pretty easy to become discouraged and say things like, "I give up. I'm going to fail". This negativity adds more stress, for me at least, because a project turns into "oh my gosh, if I fail this project, I'll get a bad grade in the class which means my GPA will drop and I wouldn't get into college and I wouldn't be successful in life" when quite frankly, the odds of that actually happening are slim to none!

Another thing that adds to negativity and, as a result, stress is your environment! I don't know about y'all but school can sometimes seem like a bubble: the only real matters is grades, test scores, and getting into college. Of course that isn't always a bad thing but I know if my friends are stressing out over a test/quiz/exam/project, I know I'm going to start freaking out too!

No, that doesn't mean you should never talk to anybody to avoid unnecessary stress but sometimes for me, I find I need to take a deep breath and think. "Okay, you have a ___ in _______. Will it be the end of the world if you don't get an A on the test?". Odds are it will be okay and usually it works out the way it supposed to!

Anyways, my long rant is over and I decided to round up my favorite tips for focusing on the positive if it is hard with mountains of homework and piles of stress!

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Look at the Big Picture

I often get swamped in focusing on the now impacts of something. Yes, you failed that quiz and that may bring your grade down a bit. But will that make you fail the class? No. Will that one quiz make you not get into college? No. Will that one quiz stop you from having your dream job and being amazing successful? No!

Enjoy some of your favorite things

Feeling overwhelmed? Indulge in one of your favorite things whether that be a piece of chocolate, a cup of coffee with your favorite creamer, a few minutes on Pinterest, or a hot shower.

Remind yourself of what you have to be thankful for!

I know that at times I totally forget all of the things I am thankful for when insanely stressed or worried about the future. Take a few minutes to write down what you are thankful for!

Allow yourself 1 day of the weekend to not do homework

I just started doing this and I have found it's crucial for maintaining sanity while stressed out. Obviously I can't do this every weekend if I have absolutely a ton to do but if I can make it work, it is so helpful to have one day to do what you want to and not worry about school!

Talk to Friends

I don't know about y'all but when I am with my friends, we are constantly laughing. Yes, 99% of the time it is over something stupid but talking and laughing definitely improves my mood!

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How do you focus on the positive? Let me know in the comments!