Although January is always a fairly stressful time for highschoolers, with seniors anxiously awaiting college acceptances and juniors preparing to undergo the college process themselves, this past month has felt more tense than usual, as the current Israel-Hamas conflict has only heightened feelings of stress and unease. Although FA’s Peace Week was two weeks ago, it is important to continue thinking about ways we can each find peace and positivity in our lives. There are a few ways we can achieve this:
- Turn to gratitude
Human beings are problem solvers, and in times of chaos or stress, it’s easy for us to fixate on and try to solve what is going wrong in order to get rid of our anxiety. However this has the exact opposite effect, because by focusing on what is going wrong, we only invite more anxiety and negative energy into our lives. Instead, we must turn to gratitude, as this forces us to look for the good in each day and appreciate the little things, which leads to joy. The more grateful we are, the less room we have for negative thoughts.
- Develop healthy habits
When we are stressed, it can be easy to forget to take care of ourselves. We convince ourselves that we are doing the right thing, because if we prioritize important tasks we will end up feeling better in the long run. However, this leads to inevitable burnout, causing us to feel even worse than before. Instead, we must find balance in the form of healthy habits, such as exercise, spending time with friends and family, eating healthily and, most importantly, rest. Building healthy and enriching habits is essential to our wellbeing, as our habits influence our mood, and our mood is a lens through which we live life.
