Don't Stress Out Over Stress

November.

Students know this time as a time filled with stress, as the school semester that once seemed so long now has a mere four and a half weeks left before finals. (Yes, that's correct fellow students: Only four weeks.)

With only four weeks left, the once-distant due dates for research papers and final projects are no longer creeping up on us students, but instead are hurtling towards us with reckless abandon.

Many classes have over 50% of their grade determined in these final weeks, and with added pressure coming from the impending craziness of Christmas, students can feel the stress oppressively pulsing through their veins.

It's incredibly easy to get overwhelmed, isn't it?

One word of advice. Don't.

There are ways to control the madness.

First, simply practice good time management. That episode of House can wait, you know.

Look at your schedule and allocate time for school work based on accurate estimates of how long it should take to complete that work. You would be surprised how productive you can be when you take a little time to create a schedule for your life and stick to it!

Second, just start your work. Seriously. Just starting the assignment makes it so much easier to finish. Don't procrastinate. Starting the assignment is half the battle.

Third, when you create your schedule, be sure to pencil in some relaxation time. Once you work for an hour or two, why not take a ten minute coffee break?

Why not take a quick stroll around your neighborhood? Taking a quick break can really clear your mind and continue to prepare you for the work load ahead.

Finally, the biggest advice to offer is the simplest: Take a breath, calm yourself, and look at the big picture. How much of a difference in your life will an "A" instead of a "B" really make?

Sure, in some cases it can matter quite a bit, but in most cases, we tend to stress over things that we have given inflated importance to. Reread that last sentence, and think about it. Isn't it true?

Half of our stress is not the work load itself, but the importance we place on it. It's not only important that we get that paper done, but also that we get the grade we want on it. If you take a second and truly evaluate the worth of the assignment, your stress level can drop dramatically.

It seems that in the middle of all the craziness that is the end of the semester, our view on life can become incredibly narrow, as if it seems like the only thing that matters is what is happening in our lives right then.

It feels as if everything doesn't get done the way it's supposed to, the world will crash and our lives as we know it will end.

But they won't.

The truth is that it doesn't matter how you do on your paper; Christmas will still come. It doesn't matter what grade you get on your final; The seasons will still change. The sun will still come up tomorrow morning.

God is ultimately in control, not us.

Isn't that awesome? Isn't it awesome that we don't have to worry about the most basic facts of life? No matter what we do, the world goes on. The stars still shine, the plants still bloom.

I can stand outside and watch the amazing work of an infinite God occur all around me. It is then that the Bible verse Psalm 46:10 comes to life.

"Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

God himself asks us to slow down, take a breath, be still, and recognize his divine hand at work. It's amazing how much pressure is taken away when we realize that we are not in control.

Personally, I am forever thankful that God is in control and not me. Knowing me and how I operate, if I were in control of everything, it would be a chaotic mess. But imperfect me is not in control; God is.

What this means for school is that we, as students, need to do the best we can do on our work. After that, though, we don't have control over it. Once that paper is turned in, there is nothing we can do to affect the outcome.

We need to do well on the assignment, sure, for that is the only thing that any of us do have control over. Once it's turned in, however, an all-powerful and loving God takes care of the details.

That's awesome, if you think about it.

Ultimately, if you want to do well in these waning weeks of the semester, I urge you to realize what you do and do not have control over, and only try to control those things whose outcome is affected by you.

When you focus solely on those things, you'll naturally find your worries will decrease, and your assignments will be easier to complete.

In the meantime, take a little time to wonder in the world around you.

Check out the sun as it peeks through the trees.

Witness the explosion of life that happens near the river.

Stand in awe of the fact that there is so much more going on in life than your final paper.

It really puts things into perspective.

Of course, in the meantime, get your work done. But once you're done, give up control and realize that God has it all in his hands. It just may take all the worry out of your system.

Besides, life is too short and beautiful to worry.