Stress and Procrastination

What is stress?

Stress is a reaction to having too many pressures in your life.  A little stress is good...it can be motivating.  But too much stress is bad...it is exhausting, upsetting, and can keep you from accomplishing all of your goals.

Examples of various stress levels:

• No stress at all:  Imagine you are in a race, but no one is watching you; no one else is racing against you and no one is timing you.  How likely will you be to try your hardest and find the experience rewarding or enjoyable?
• A little stress:  Imagine you are in a race with other students and your friends are watching you.  If you win the race, you get a gift certificate to your favorite coffee shop and your friends and family will be proud of you.  How likely will you be to push yourself to win, and enjoy the challenge?
• Too much stress:  Imagine you are in a race with Olympic athletes and the whole world is watching you.  If you win the race, you will have fame and fortune.  If you lose, however, everyone will hate you; you will lose your job, and you will never be able to succeed in life.  How likely will you be to try hard and enjoy the experience?

Although these examples are, obviously, hypothetical, they help demonstrate both the positive and negative aspects of stress.  Too little stress, and you are not motivated to do your best.  Too much stress may make you feel like quitting altogether.  And either way, the experience will not be enjoyable.

Your goal is to manage your stress levels to avoid either extreme.

When you have too much stress, you feel overwhelmed and incapable of accomplishing your goals. 

Click here to learn about some common Signs of Stress.

Revised April 29, 2008 by webservices@pasadena.edu