When Stress Becomes A Choice!

It was 10 pm and like always, Thatha came into Ved's room carrying a cup of warm turmeric milk for him. He saw Ved sitting on his chair, his head between his hands and his posture stooping. 

"Here, have milk." Thatha said, gently tugging Ved's hands off his face. He dragged a chair and sat beside Ved, glancing at the book kept on the table. It was Maths Olympiad. 

"Are you finding it difficult?" Thatha asked gently.

Ved sipped on the milk, looking very tensed. "No, I have solved each and every sum from every chapter in the book."

"Then what seems to be the problem? Why do you look so stressed?"

Ved exhaled. "Everyone is saying that this paper is supposed to be very tough. What if I don't do well? What if the paper carries questions which are out of the syllabus? What if I draw a complete blank and am unable to write a single answer?"

With every question, Ved's panic seemed to magnify, his eyes widening and his voice quivering slightly. 

Thatha placed his hand on the child's head. "For a few minutes, relax. Take some deep breaths." His gaze fell on the window.

The chair was placed beside the window. Outside night had fallen briskly, a few stars already out to play in the sky. A gentle breeze ruffled through the leaves of the trees that bordered around the colony where Ved lived. 

Ved looked outside the window, feeling somewhat settled as he shifted his focus from the book to the world outside, a world that was rapidly closing down for the day. A few people were walking in the colony, holding their dogs on leashes. Even as Ved watched, the lights started switching off in some of the houses that were visible from his home.

Thatha cleared his throat. Ved wondered what quote he would pick from his evergreen collection. 

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." Thatha uttered and looked at Ved curiosly.

"Umm, Thatha, I haven't heard this one before." 

Thatha smiled. "I know. This was quoted by William James. Someday we will read his work together. The point I wanted to make was that, you need to identify what things are in your control and what things aren't, and accordingly spend your time and energy on what really counts."

Ved listened in rapt attention.

"You have two options here." Thatha said, "You have done your best. Now you can either work yourself up into panic, assuming the worst and thinking negatively, or you can choose to be grounded in the present, to not to invent imaginary and panicky situations for yourself and take things as they come. Stress doesn't come from situations; it comes from the way we react to them. You need to identify whether the things you are stressing about are imaginary or real. What do you feel?"

"This is totally imaginary." Ved said in a low voice. "I was imagining that the paper would be tough."

"You don't know that for sure, right?" Thatha said gently. "What you can do is to choose positivity over negativity and stay calm. We have enough to deal with in real life. We do not need the added tension of imaginary situations. Now what are you going to do?"

Ved sat up straighter, looking considerably calm now. "First things first, I will finish this milk." He drank the milk. "Then I will brush my teeth and have a calming sleep. I have done my best."

"Very good!" Thatha beamed. He watched Ved wash the cup and brush his teeth. As he lay down on his bed, Thatha tucked his blanket around him. "Sleep well. Tomorrow will take care of itself."

"Good night, Thatha." Ved murmured sleepily. Thatha smiled and patted his cheek. Then he switched off the light, turned on the night lamp and gently closed the door. 

Outside, the world too breathed a sigh of relief as another day ended. Tomorrow would indeed take care of itself.