Calm the Mind
My freshmen year at Connecticut College was filled with ups and downs across the back-to-back semesters of classes, clubs, friends, and trying to figure out what I want to do in life and how to be happy - the latter two causing much stress and many tears.
In addition to grappling with this "existential crisis" my worry-wart mind adapted a new characteristic that I had not dealt with in high school: I call in "compartmentalizing." For me this terms refers to a state where your mind is constantly "on," thinking about everything you have to get done before the light switches off, and making more lists than your agenda can handle. In fact, I even incorporated this term into my final project for my art class first semester.
I began to look at my coursework as another task to finish, instead of with passion and excitement. Where had my motivation and interest gone? I don't know the answer to this question, but my main task is to recover that same motivation I once possessed.
Motivation can come in bursts throughout your day - perhaps in the morning after a healthy breakfast or later in the day post working out or meeting up with a friend for coffee. Losing motivation to complete a task or assignment often leads to frustration and anger - even as I write this post four paragraphs in I am beginning to lose my creative spark and crave to eat the banana bread I made this afternoon and watch "Skyfall" on the couch with my mom.
Unfortunately deadlines still arrive and to-do-lists still require to be "to-doed," so there must be a way to recapture this motivation and push on.
I am not saying what I am about to share is the "medical" or "academic" answer to such a dilemma or that it will definitely work for you, but it is every human's moral obligation to help those in need.
So without a further-a-do here is what I have discovered...
I recently went on a six-week Italian Intensive Program at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy. This was an experience of a lifetime and perhaps the best six-weeks of my life. I ate croissants for breakfast, went to bars at night, spoke Italian with baristas, and traveled around Tuscany with amazing people. All the while still completing coursework. I had a realization that it was okay if I went out with my friends to walk around Perugia and grab some gelato instead of immediately completing our grammar exercises we were assigned for homework. It was okay if I went to karaoke night with my friends and catch up on work after midnight - not the wisest choice I will admit, but still. It was okay if I let myself enjoy a class dinner rather than worry about the studying I had to do for our quiz the next day once I returned home.
This freedom from the constant pressure I had always put on myself to complete assignments right away made me happier and helped me enjoy completing my course work because I would often sit down at my desk with a refreshed perspective ready to learn the subjunctive or memorize Dante.
My conclusion was that the more care-free and easy-going Italian culture rubbed off on me. I don't think I will be able to completely let go of my rigidity, but I now feel more spontaneous and thus let myself have a break once a while. Everyone needs a break and there is nothing like the rush of creativity one feels after a rejuvenating vacation.
So my advice is this: listen to your body and mind. As much "hippy-ish" that sounds, if you tune into how you are feeling you can determine more accurately when your body needs a break and when your mind is ready to work. It is also okay to realize halfway through working that you need a break or if you wake up on a Saturday morning that you were planning to fill with household chores and work that your body is not up to these tasks and instead go on a walk in nature.
Of course I realize sometimes you do not have the choice to relax rather than complete a list of tasks because you are running on a deadline, but when you do have the luxury of a choice try to take advantage of this option and make the decision that makes the most sense for your body that day.
In addition to grappling with this "existential crisis" my worry-wart mind adapted a new characteristic that I had not dealt with in high school: I call in "compartmentalizing." For me this terms refers to a state where your mind is constantly "on," thinking about everything you have to get done before the light switches off, and making more lists than your agenda can handle. In fact, I even incorporated this term into my final project for my art class first semester.
I began to look at my coursework as another task to finish, instead of with passion and excitement. Where had my motivation and interest gone? I don't know the answer to this question, but my main task is to recover that same motivation I once possessed.
Motivation can come in bursts throughout your day - perhaps in the morning after a healthy breakfast or later in the day post working out or meeting up with a friend for coffee. Losing motivation to complete a task or assignment often leads to frustration and anger - even as I write this post four paragraphs in I am beginning to lose my creative spark and crave to eat the banana bread I made this afternoon and watch "Skyfall" on the couch with my mom.
Unfortunately deadlines still arrive and to-do-lists still require to be "to-doed," so there must be a way to recapture this motivation and push on.
I am not saying what I am about to share is the "medical" or "academic" answer to such a dilemma or that it will definitely work for you, but it is every human's moral obligation to help those in need.
So without a further-a-do here is what I have discovered...
I recently went on a six-week Italian Intensive Program at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy. This was an experience of a lifetime and perhaps the best six-weeks of my life. I ate croissants for breakfast, went to bars at night, spoke Italian with baristas, and traveled around Tuscany with amazing people. All the while still completing coursework. I had a realization that it was okay if I went out with my friends to walk around Perugia and grab some gelato instead of immediately completing our grammar exercises we were assigned for homework. It was okay if I went to karaoke night with my friends and catch up on work after midnight - not the wisest choice I will admit, but still. It was okay if I let myself enjoy a class dinner rather than worry about the studying I had to do for our quiz the next day once I returned home.
This freedom from the constant pressure I had always put on myself to complete assignments right away made me happier and helped me enjoy completing my course work because I would often sit down at my desk with a refreshed perspective ready to learn the subjunctive or memorize Dante.
My conclusion was that the more care-free and easy-going Italian culture rubbed off on me. I don't think I will be able to completely let go of my rigidity, but I now feel more spontaneous and thus let myself have a break once a while. Everyone needs a break and there is nothing like the rush of creativity one feels after a rejuvenating vacation.
So my advice is this: listen to your body and mind. As much "hippy-ish" that sounds, if you tune into how you are feeling you can determine more accurately when your body needs a break and when your mind is ready to work. It is also okay to realize halfway through working that you need a break or if you wake up on a Saturday morning that you were planning to fill with household chores and work that your body is not up to these tasks and instead go on a walk in nature.
Of course I realize sometimes you do not have the choice to relax rather than complete a list of tasks because you are running on a deadline, but when you do have the luxury of a choice try to take advantage of this option and make the decision that makes the most sense for your body that day.
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