by Mark Schiffman, M.S.
Having been a professional student for my entire life, the beginning of September is always a challenge for me. Every year it seems that this year’s schedule is going to be crazier than last year’s and this year’s workload will surpass last year’s. This may or may not be a factual observation but the source of anxiety is the statement lurking behind this inference – “This year’s schedule/workload is even crazier than last year’s”, followed by the belief – I don’t think I can handle it this time!” This lack of confidence and frustration intolerance can engender injections of anxiety throughout the day. While at certain points these reminders act as motivators to work harder, they often can lead to ruminations and a loss of productivity.
One of the helpful ways to challenge my unhelpful thought pattern is to remind myself that I have evidence from my past history that I have been able to manage and be relatively successful at the different challenges that each new year has presented. When we have beliefs of “I can’t handle this” or “This is too much/hard”, it might be helpful to think about how we might have successfully navigated and survived either similar or identical situations in the past. When we shift from the irrational belief of “I can’t handle this” to the rational belief of “I can handle this, just like I did last time, even though it may be difficult”, we can change our anxiety to concern which may result in even more productivity.
