Pressure
4/30/2019
Pressure – I can’t get the Billy Joel song out of my head
“All grown up and no place to go. Psych 1 Psych 2 What do you know?.....I’ll tell you what it means PRESSURE”.
Daily I am sitting with kids, teens, college students and yes, adults, too, that are drowning in a pool of pressure. Grades and schedules and internships and jobs and money, bills and debt. Mr. Joel could write several more versus of his song based alone on woes from my clientele.
I’ve been on the sidelines of many college students looking for summer internships or full time jobs, if they are graduating, and have witnessed the pressure building in their souls. Pressure to have the right position with the right company making the right salary. Sadly, this is after they have basically been under pressure most of their lives; high school grades to get into the right colleges and then college grades to get the right employment (and, of course, don’t forget about graduate school).
Is it all too much? I don’t think I could do enough deep breathing in my office to quell the societal pressure that so many of us are feeling.
How do we handle it? The truth is, relaxation techniques like deep breathing in my office can help with building pressure, as can taking a good look at perspective. Our students often believe that there is one right college and one right job for them. After having spent decades on this earth, I now know that there are many many options for each of these anxious over achievers.
What if the right fit isn’t the most prestigious? Maybe someone can get a great education and make lifelong friends from their second, or even third choice university. And, often the best jobs are with good people and mentors, even if they aren’t Wall Street companies (we see how well that did for some).
It is true, there is an abundance of pressure floating around the halls of our schools and workspaces; but I truly do believe that a worthwhile education and career can occur from readjusting expectations and looking for the best fit rather than the best fancy name