Peace of mind at Stanford is a rare commodity.

By Heidi Fogle (Stanford Peace of Mind)

Class shopping melts into midterms blends into dead week rushes into finals, and then after a short period of recovery, it all starts over again. Even the summers, ostensibly ideal time for some R&R, are a high-pressure, meticulously planned affair. The reality of the Stanford schedule isn’t going away. Nor should it; Stanford students are able to accomplish incredible things. The issue here is how many of those students place those accomplishments higher on their priority list than their own well-being. We’ve all seen lists of self-care tips, heard the admonitions to get more sleep, more exercise, and more down time. How many of us have then proceeded right into the next all-nighter or multi-day stint in the library? I’m not advocating drastic lifestyle or philosophy changes here; by all means, keep doing great things and keep pushing yourself to do them. Just keep in mind that really, truly, SOMEWHERE deep down in there, you are not your accomplishments, and that part of “you” doesn’t need fellowships or GPAs or honors theses to be happy. I don’t know what it does need; only you do. So my tip list is short and simple as well: close your eyes, take a couple of deep breaths, and find something in your life you can feel happy about. Right now. Not to harp on my motivating theme too much, but by the time you open your eyes again, you’ll have an instant dose of peace of mind.

Also, you really should try to get more sleep.