Pushed to the limit

Sometimes there’s just piles and piles of work that need doing. Every time you plough through the pile, more seems to keep stacking up. That’s how I feel right now. Buried under revision for these exams. It’s ironic that a few days ago I wrote about revision and now I’m ripping it apart in this post. There is a such thing as “over-revising”, trust me! You feel tired all the time despite getting 8 hours of sleep every night. You feel like you keep zoning out and your eyes keep closing when you look at words. If you’re experiencing these dreadful symptoms, you’ve been pushed to the limit. Sit back, relax and let me guide you out of this mess.

Time. It will all get better with time, but if you don’t allocate periods to relax, it won’t work. Don’t revise something less intense or keep splashing your face with water (I tried this- failed). You need to STOP! I took 1-2 days out and didn’t revise, and guess what? I feel so much better and rejuvenated. This was not out of choice though because me being the dedicated (and crazy) student I am, wanted to power through this ‘phase’. A wise person told me that spending 2 days recharging was wasting less time than failing at revising. Mother made me relax, and mother was right!

When I was revising, I took breaks, watched t.v and well… relaxed. So I was very confused as to how I had over-done it. After much contemplation, I realised that I had been overcome by this thing called stress. It’s horrible and I’m sure you’ve all experienced it many times in your lives. However I don’t think that I noticed it which is why I never stopped it. I would not feel stressed but somewhere inside me knew that if I didn’t learn this content or get the grades then I would ultimately fail. My best advice to you is admit that you get stressed (unless you really don’t care for which I envy you). Stressing is normal and if you recognise what’s causing it, you can plan to battle against it and relax.

I watched ‘Lion’ the other day and it was one of those films that makes you cry because things like that happen in real life (I don’t want to spoil the film). It also made me feel pretty pathetic for stressing over something like exams when some people are stressing about when they’re going to have their next meal. I also felt grateful for the fact that I am lucky enough to have an education and that I shouldn’t work 24/7 if I know it’s not benefitting me; I should use the resources I have effectively. Going off a bit but I honestly recommend watching  ‘Lion’ because it makes you aware of things that happen in 3rd world countries. Our problems are absolutely nothing compared to the problems they face.

Finally I believe that surrounding yourself with people that allow you to forget about the work is the best way to relax. Family and friends can distract you from work but sometimes we all need a little distraction to keep us sane.

I have learnt so much these past 2 days about what’s important in life and I don’t think I will ever allow myself to be pushed to the limit again because I am in control of my life. Message of the blog: you can’t allow small insignificant problems to get in the way of you living happily. Don’t let yourself get pushed to the limit. Take control.