The complete list of all life-guiding messages for young people – click the titles for further information
Problems are a normal part of life, and we usually feel better when we do something to resolve them rather than just dwell on them. If you can’t solve the problem, change the way you think about it. You can practice acceptance and move on with life in a positive way.
One way to deal with situations you can’t change is to practice acceptance. This means accepting the way things are without insisting that they should be different, and deciding to get on with life in spite of the situation.
Before you react to something your sibling has said or done, take a deep breath and think about the situation. Maybe you’re angry at your sibling or frustrated by a bigger underlying issue.
Although it might feel impossible sometimes, many siblings grow up to be close friends. It might take years and a lot of maturing before this happens, but in the meantime there are steps you can take to avoid fighting with your sibling and smooth out your relationship.
If you find yourself thinking in black-and-white, instead look for the shades of grey in between. Is it really so bad? Are you taking an extreme view? Just because something isn’t completely perfect doesn’t mean that it’s a total disaster.
When you’re thinking in black-and-white, you see everything in terms of being either good or bad with nothing in between. Either you’re great, or you’re a loser; if you don’t look like a model, you must be ugly; if you do something wrong, then you are completely useless.
Thinking errors are irrational patterns of thinking that can cause you to feel bad and sometimes act in self-defeating ways. If you feel more upset the more you think about a situation, you can learn to think in a different way.
You can’t change your height, your age, most of your physical features, or what has happened in the past. But, you can change the way you deal with how you see yourself, and situations, in the future.
In an exam, avoid perfectionism. It is good to check spelling and punctuation, but no-one is expecting perfection. Aim to get as many answers completed as best as you can in the time you have available.
In an exam, decide whether you want to do the “easy” or “difficult” questions first. Doing a “difficult” one first while you are very alert might be best for you, or doing an “easy” one first might help to relax you. Do what works best for you.