A Worthy Challenge

I am teaching a course this semester that I’ve never previously taught. It concerns all topics stress-related including stress theory, management, and relaxation techniques. Since I’ve never taught the course and also do not want to be quite the biggest hypocrite, I’ve been reading the textbook. At least one page ahead of the students, right? In chapter one, several stress theories are discussed, one of which is primarily concerned with perceptions in that our reactions to stress are not based so much on the quantity of stress experienced but on how we view our stressors. It says specifically, “…if you perceive potentially stressful events as a challenge instead of as a threat, less stress will result.” This caught my attention as I have always classified the demands of dance as a challenge. Dance, in any form, is extremely demanding, primarily in the physical sense but also emotionally; because I see this demand as a challenge, I am willing to work hard to see what may result. Others who dance likely fall into this or two other categories: those who find it to be too hard, a threat, and discontinue, and those who find it to be neither and participate for other purposes such as for fun or exercise. Of course, the challenge itself can serve as the source of fun and exertion! What I would like to do is to be able to take this viewpoint, and these simple principles, and apply them to other aspects of my daily life. Teaching, research, social relationships, and other sources of stress often seem threatening, now more so than ever before. Unfortunately, and I am not entirely sure why; it wasn’t always this way, especially with science. I used to love the challenge of a course in biochemistry, or the challenge in formulating theory based collected data and results. Something has changed in the past three years, but I am willing to bet I can change it again to find a worthy challenge in all my endeavors.