PARENTING
Om
30
october 2017yogajournal.com.auTeach the teens in your life how to deal with,
manage or eliminate stress in their lives and help
them shape a more rewarding future for themselves.
FROM STRESS TO
SUCCESS
PHOTO: FIZKES/ISTOCKPHOTO.COMTHINK BACK to high school and a time when you were feeling pressured
or stressed. Perhaps it was the end-of-year fi nals, a sporting match that
mattered or your driving test. How we handled that situation is probably
the same way we deal with stressful situations today. The way we
managed our emotions and minds, and ultimately our stress levels at
high school, set the blueprint for how we operate throughout the rest of
our lives. That is, unless we learn how to reset our way of behaving and
operating under pressure. For teens, this is important because if we can
teach them how to deal with stress early on, not only will they sail
through one of the most challenging times in their lives, but they will
have a strong mechanism in place for facing anything that life brings.
Most teens handle stress in one of two ways: either the pressure and
stress builds up to the point where it impacts their ability to think and
act on a day-to-day basis, or they learn how to handle the stress and
keep going and performing with the stress.
Stress isn’t necessarily bad, because you can channel it into
performance and produce results. It’s chronic stress or constant
stress, combined with a lack of tools to deal with it, that leads to
problems and illness.
Take Leylah, a 15-year-old ballet dancer who reached the British
dancing fi nals. Did she feel stressed leading up to the big day? Did she
feel pressured to perform well? Yes, she did, but over years of practice,
Leylah had learned how to perform and function well under stress.
When she walked on to the stage, she had complete control over the
stress and any reactions it may cause. She danced fl awlessly and wowed
the judges and her audience.
On the other hand, Henry, a 17-year-old boy taking his HSC exam
was feeling so stressed after months of tests, revision and the pressure
to get a good grade, that he didn’t sleep well, had anxiety and easily got
upset and angry. When exam time arrived, the pressure was high and
he had trouble concentrating. This impacted his ability to think clearly
and as a result, he didn’t do his best. In an extreme case, Henry may
even walk out.
Teens are being bombarded with pressure, and ‘stress’ is a common
word in teenage language. It is a part of life for many teens and, for
some, will stop them from performing well and being the best they can
be. Tools for how to handle school and social pressure are essential.
But what if there was a way to perform and operate without being
stressed at all? What if there was a third option for learning how to
perform without holding onto any stress?
What we are not teaching our teens is how to perform under
pressure without getting stressed. This is a new option that will lead to
clear thinking, good judgment and success while remaining calm and
happy. Imagine if every teen lived their fi nal school year being happy,
calm and successful.By Loraine Rushton