Under Pressure

People always say that in life there are just three

certainties; you’re born, you pay taxes and you die.

But what about the other certainty? The certainty

that I am sure, even the most laid-back of us, all

experience. Pressure. Whether it is pressure in your

work-life, love-life or just your plain old life, it is the

single thing that shapes people into being who they

are. When faced with extreme pressure, people can

be divided in to two categories: the once who sink,

and those who swim.

You hear it all the time; those people who say, “I

can’t deal with all this pressure” and then the others

who seem to thrive on it, believing that it is the

making of them, and it is only when this pressure is applied that they realise that they have

the ability to fly. I firmly believe that it is pressure that can turn us into superheroes,

opening the curtains and letting us finally see what we are fully capable of achieving in this

stage-drama that is life.

Of course, there is that other type of pressure. That pressure that some of us (me included)

seem to put on ourselves. And I can’t help but wonder...would we not all just be better off

if we took a deep breath, a sip of chardonnay, and let the good times roll? I mean, what’s

the worst that can happen?

Here’s a scenario: have you ever woken up, taken a look at your clock and thought: “Oh My

God I’ve overslept! Aaaaaagh!” In a frenzy of nerves and adrenaline you jump out of bed

and anxiously end up bouncing off the walls, rushing around desperately trying to get your

mascara right and frantically clawing through your wardrobe searching for your “safety

dress” to realise that, of course, it’s in the wash. The one day you’re running late and you

can’t pick an outfit, your make-up goes wrong and let’s not even get started on that mop on

the top of your head. Am I right?

Why does this happen I hear you screaming! My answer is simply: Pressure.

We mount all this pressure on to ourselves that we end up trying so hard to get everything

perfect that we inevitably make millions of ludicrous mistakes. Now, ask yourself: faced

with that same heart-stopping moment, would you not have been more successful if you

had just paused, taken a breath – maybe not a glass of chardonnay at 7am – and calmly

went about your usual routine?

We are faced with so much pressure in our day-to-day lives that the last thing we need to do

is pile more on to ourselves. Our bodies just seem to give in when we pile unnecessary

pressure on. The heart starts racing, our body temperature rises and we faint – true story,

and I believe on more than one occasion. Once we faint it pretty much means we’re

screwed. We’re either going to be VERY late, have to take a trip to hospital, or take a

"sickie".

And let’s be honest, this pointless pressure just leads to losing a day of our lives! It’s not

worth it. If you do manage to sneak in to work late you’re going to be so flustered it’s

probably going to take you a good half the day to slow your heart-rate back down.

Especially if, like me, you are too eager to please and you end up despising yourself for the

rest of the day for letting yourself oversleep and consequently panic!!!

If we did just calm down and think, “Oh well, I may be a little late but it’s not a common

occurrence for me, so it’s fine. Just relax, drink your tea (I really cannot stomach

chardonnay that early) and go about everything like normal” and you know what, you will

probably end up feeling better, looking better and being ready twice as fast. So really, what

does this personal-pressure achieve? Absolutely nothing! In the words of Mika: “Relax –

Take it easy!”

I am Kerry-Louise Barnaby Guest Writer