Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

if this deserves to be in psych feel free to move it, but this has been more and more of an issue for me and i'd some outside opinions and those are usually good coming out of here.

i am currently an HS senior applying to colleges and have begun to notice a trend in my thought process; the better i do the more i feel i haven't done well enough. i never really noticed this before but recently it has come up a lot, i really began to work harder this year because of college apps and all that. i recently got my latest SAT and quarter grades which were both my best ever, receiving a 3.83 unweighted and a 2250 on the SAT. for a day or two i was very happy with this, then after that all i have thought about is how i could have done better and all the things i haven't done that i should. i never noticed it much before but if i think back it is has happened before, but never with this severity. i am wonder if this is unhealthy psychologically, i feel like i should be a lot happier with what i have done but cannot seem to be happy with what i have done and just am upset or stressed out about what i haven't done yet. thanks to any responses, this is something that i have been dwelling on more and more these past few weeks

Re: Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

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2250 on the SAT.

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the SAT used to be out of 1600. is it out of 2400 now? what's the 3rd section?

Re: Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

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2250 on the SAT.

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the SAT used to be out of 1600. is it out of 2400 now? what's the 3rd section?

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writing, pretty much what used to be the SAT II writing test is now part of the main test.

Re: Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

I think its a characteristic of successful people to never be satisfied and always demand more out of themselves.

Re: Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

Standard for your type. I am the same way. My gf is the opposite and of the two types, I think she is far better off. She enjoys her success and is mostly happy most of the time. I am almost never happy with my results. I am always looking at the next level and thinking I need to get there.

A good coping mechanism is to focus on the process rather than the results. The joyis in the climb, rather than reaching the summt. That's what I try to do and it makes for a happier life. Otherwise, I think you run the rsisk of never being happy with your life.

Re: Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

Learn meditation. For real.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=RY97P07PMho

Re: Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

IMO the things that make you happy and the things you do for career and achievement shouldn't be linked. Be hungry for that stuff but realize that in the end it doesn't matter. At your age life will be defined by your future actions.

The end of HS is an incredibly anxious time, especially if you're a high achiever or about to leave home for the first time, and you've just got to ride it out. A few months into college and especially by your sophomore year, you'll find your feet with all this stuff and the world will look very different. Just enjoy it in the meantime and maybe be a bit philosophical about things you can't change.

Re: Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

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if this deserves to be in psych feel free to move it, but this has been more and more of an issue for me and i'd some outside opinions and those are usually good coming out of here.

i am currently an HS senior applying to colleges and have begun to notice a trend in my thought process; the better i do the more i feel i haven't done well enough. i never really noticed this before but recently it has come up a lot, i really began to work harder this year because of college apps and all that. i recently got my latest SAT and quarter grades which were both my best ever, receiving a 3.83 unweighted and a 2250 on the SAT. for a day or two i was very happy with this, then after that all i have thought about is how i could have done better and all the things i haven't done that i should. i never noticed it much before but if i think back it is has happened before, but never with this severity. i am wonder if this is unhealthy psychologically, i feel like i should be a lot happier with what i have done but cannot seem to be happy with what i have done and just am upset or stressed out about what i haven't done yet. thanks to any responses, this is something that i have been dwelling on more and more these past few weeks

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get a grip man. If you can't enjoy college then you'll never manage to be happy - it don't get much better. Wine, women, song and good quality drugs. Do a bit of work but college aint tough, enjoy it.

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IMO the things that make you happy and the things you do for career and achievement shouldn't be linked.

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really bad advice imo. A huge chunk of your life is spent working. If you don't find it satisfying then its bad news and if it makes you want to puke at the thought of going to work its a disaster. People who love their jobs have a major advantage; teachers who love teaching, researchers who love research, me who loves sitting at home watching cricket and listening to music etc etc.

chez

Re: Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

I'm not saying you shouldn't do something satisfying. But chasing satisfaction through work and linking it to your happiness is a bad life strategy.

Happiness is about other things - friends, family, experiences, travel, etc. Nothing you can get from work compares to a rich personal life and if work is affecting you that much, perhaps other areas need attention.

Re: Personal Question: Stress and Success
 

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get a grip man. If you can't enjoy college then you'll never manage to be happy - it don't get much better.

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Fail