More than a few studies support the point. Anyone who’s ever pushed themselves to get to the next level or accomplish something knows that when you really challenge yourself, you can turn up amazing results. The idea of optimal anxiety isn’t anything new. Too much anxiety and we’re too stressed to be productive, and our performance drops off sharply. This space is called “Optimal Anxiety,” and it’s just outside our comfort zone. Dodson explained that a state of relative comfort created a steady level of performance In order to maximize performance, however, we need a state of relative anxiety-a space where our stress levels are slightly higher than normal. The idea of the comfort zone goes back to a classic experiment in psychology. You benefit in obvious ways: regular happiness, low anxiety, and reduced stress. He shows that if given the opportunity, he would flourish on our campus given the variety of academic and extracurricular opportunities and that he is equipped with the tools to overcome whatever challenges he is faced with.Simply, your comfort zone is a behavioral space where your activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes stress and risk. By growing accustomed to challenging himself, Samuel exemplifies these characteristics and is able to take the lessons he has learned on the squash court into other areas of his life. Our students push the boundaries of discovery, are faced with challenges in and out of the classroom, and pursue newfound passions. Samuel’s essay is a reflection on pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone which is not only an important life lesson but also something that Hopkins students do every day. From traditions like Blue Jay Opening Day and the Spring Fair to the many world-changing clubs like the Amnesty International club and the Foreign Affairs Symposium, the different ways to be involved in the Hopkins community is limitless and invigorating and I can’t wait to be a part of the Hopkins family. Even though I will develop intellectually from the many academic classes and clubs/activities offered on campus, I feel as though a true community is birthed from exploring beyond what one’s used to. I want to try new things and embrace the campus traditions. I haven’t transformed completely from introvert to extrovert, but I’ve become more social as the years go by.Īt Hopkins, I want to do something similar. My peers brought out a side of me I didn’t even know existed. From team trips and tournaments to cringy karaoke moments and participating in eccentric traditions like our annual SquashBusters Olympics, my comfort zone has steadily grown larger. In SquashBusters, they tell us to push ourselves past our limits on the squash courts, but that mindset has transferred to other areas of my life as well. It’s been six years and this program has made a monumental difference in my life.īeing a part of SquashBusters is a program that really pushed me out of my shell to the point where I’ve grown accustomed to challenging myself. Because the program combined the sport of squash with academic support, mentoring, and service opportunities, I decided to sign up. At that time, I’d only heard of Squash once before, but I didn’t really know what it was. A lot of the time, I stayed where I was comfortable.ĭuring the first week of school, a group of people visited the school and they introduced themselves as Squashbusters. I was quiet, withdrawn, and very introverted. But in seventh grade, I was at a new school 10 times bigger than my last one. If you told me I would be playing a sport called squash at 11 years old, I would call you crazy.
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