Tips for Adult Students - It's Not All in Your Head

1. Face Your Fears

Naming something, anything, takes some of the power out of it. Madeleine L’Engle illustrated this in A Wrinkle in Time. The Murray children overcame "the great evil that abhors individuality" by naming it.

What exactly are you worried about? Write down your fears, put a name to them, and they’ll suddenly become much less powerful. I can’t remember the original source of this quote I heard Wayne Dyer share, but it’s true all the same, “Write your worries in the sand and watch how long they stay there.”

(If you can help me out with the source, visit the forum and leave a comment.)

2. Trust Your Intuition

Some of us are very good at listening to our intuition, whether or not we follow it, and others have no idea what intuition even is. Very simply, intuition is that little voice in your head, the one you remember after the fact when you say to yourself, “I knew I shouldn’t have done that.”

Your intuition can be one of your most helpful guides in school. Listen to it, obey it, and start giving yourself more credit for how smart you already are.

3. Walk it Out

Walking is meditation in motion, and it’s one of the best stress relievers you can practice. Plus, it’s free and always available. When you find yourself worried about any aspect of school, or anything else for that matter, take a walk. Just walk. Don’t think or plan or worry. Walk. You’ll feel better.

4. Eat Brain Food

Did you know that your brain needs Omega-3s to function at its best? Or that eating eggs can enhance your memory and minimize fatigue? And that chocolate you always eat when stressed? It turns out that sugar really does make you sharp, it’s just that nobody can prove how much to take when. Hara Estroff Marano has the scoop on brain food for Psychology Today. Read up, and eat right.

5. Realize that People Really Aren’t Staring

Also from Psychology Today, Megan Rooney writes about studies that prove people really aren’t as focused on your clothes or overall looks as you think. Not even on a bad-hair day. We’re simply too egocentric to notice. This is a good thing. One more worry to cross off your list.