Recently, I've been reading (more like listening) to one of the most amazing books. You're going to hear me talk about it probably a thousand times, but a quick overview of the premise is that we need to be uncomfortable and challenged- not only to thrive, but to essentially survive. I won't cover the whole book, as there is a wealth of content that I believe everyone should read. However, there is a key point that I want to emphasize: There's a significant link between our mental health crisis/anxiety epidemic with us being too comfortable. It's like a graph (which I seem to be doing too many of lately). There is a flow line, a good, necessary, and even challenging amount of stress, and then a red area below. If we are under our flow line, we seeminlgy adapt to create a new threshold, a lower one. We actually adapt so much that the lower and lower our stress level becomes, the less and less we can handle. Not only does this impact our mental health negatively, but it also lowers our self-efficacy significantly. There's much more science, research, and evidence on this, as I barely scratched the surface, but it leads me into the fun part: story time.
I keep this ABCD card in my backpack where every day I grab a pen, notecard, or chapstick from. If you were in my physics class, you probably think I'm insane. If you weren't, you're totally lost. Let me explain. I've been holding this story in for a little bit now, I tend to do that, I'm not sure why. But now, since the correlation to the comfort crisis has provided me such inspiration, I must share it.
For my General Physics I class, we had an ABCD card. Most every lecture, there would be a question presented on the board with multiple-choice answers; after solving the problem on our own, we had to hold up the card, demonstrating our results. I'm not going to lie, this was scary. I probably got the correct answer only three times, and whether you're wrong or right, you're picked at random to share your answer with the class along with your theory behind it. This might not sound bad if you're a physicist, but as a first ever physics student, it was pretty brutal. Oh, did I mention the class average was 50% - after the curve?
I must confess that, back then and likely even now, even after physics II, this was the most challenging course I had ever encountered. It required me to completely alter my thinking and study habits. This course quite literally rewired my brain. During this time, not only was my stress level a 10/10 because I needed an A for graduate school, but I had other factors impacting my mental health: I felt the seasonal depression coming, once again neglected my very necessary visits from sadness, wrestled with life-changing decisions, and of course: the unavoidable holiday anxiety. In addition to those, I was struggling with my very real control issue (that we have almost none of it) and a little beat down spiritually.
I say all this to emphasize that the period I went through wasn't easy, but looking back, it unexpectedly became one of the best phases of my life, making it a contender for the top of my growth list. I learned more from those months than I have in many others, and my self-efficacy skyrocketed. Looking back, I feel a sense of peace, almost nostalgia, and a healthy pride. My thoughts sound like this as I reflect: "Look where I was, look what I did, and how far I've come."
I ended up with a 95 in the class, addressed the creeping depression, avoidance, and anxiety by starting therapy again, made the right decisions, grew in my vertical and horizontal relationships, and grew as a person, all because I didn't give up when it was hard.
Every time I catch a glimpse of the card nestled in my bag, a wave of comfort washes over me, reminding me that no matter what challenges come my way - be it the trials of life, the demands of college, or unexpected events - everything will eventually be okay. I've conquered the hard before, and I will again.
My challenge for you: embrace the hard that comes your way; it's a stepping stone to your growth and resilience. Maybe even find your own ABCD card to remind you that challenges can stop us, or they grow us - the choice is ours.
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