How I deal with pressure     or      Pressure moments

Pressure is everywhere in our life. Without air pressure, we won’t be able to drink juice with straws.

Without water pressure, we won’t have convenient tape water.

If you want to fix dinner with a blink of eye, you can cook with pressure cooker.

When we have a deep, bleeding wound, thank God, we can press on pressure point to stop blood loss.

But how do you like to be under pressure? How do you deal with your pressure?

Here is some of my special “pressure moments”. 

Going to the dentist is one of my pressure moments.

Whenever I have a toothache, I would put up with the pain and brush my teeth one hundred times a day. Unfortunately, my effort usually doesn’t work and I have to visit my dentist the last minute.

Lying on the dental chair with my hands sweating, I would ask my dentist some silly question: “What is that thing in your hand?”, “What are you going to do?”, “Does it hurt?”, “ Pleeeeeeeease do it without causing any pain---”. Yes, this is my pressure moment. Do you know how do I relieve my pressure? My ears would listen to the music played in the dental clinic. My heart would pray to God and wish everything is all-right. Of course, when it really hurts, I would cry out loud: “ Mamamia!”.

Here is  another unforgetable pressure moment. Once I was driving along a high way and suddenly noticed that my oil tank was almost empty. But it was still a long way to go and there was no gas station, no exit around. A terrible feeling hit me: “What if I run out of gas in the next second?” My head began to ache and I felt dizzy. To relieve pressure, I turned the radio on and began to sing as loud as I could. I drove my car in the outer lane and I was prepared to stop anytime, anywhere. Then I asked myself: “What is the worst situation?" " Well, maybe spend some money and have my car trailed!” Facing the situation bravely stopped my headache. My trouble wss still there but all my pressure were gone. Luckily, I was able to get to the gas station before I ran out of gas. 

What is my most horrible pressure moment?

As you know, having a conversation with familiar friends is fun, talking about an interesting topic is more fun, chatting about tabloid news is most amusing. But what about standing on the stage, facing the audience, talking in English???

I had the most horrible pressure moment while I was preparing my C1 speech. The only way I could do to relieve my pressure was: memorizing and rehearsing. I memorize my script very hard in order to recite it. I rehearsed in front of mirror, in front of my family, in front of air. To tell the truth, I even rehearsed in my dreams.

On the day I delivered my C1 speech, I felt very thirsty, so I kept drinking water. Then right before the meeting, I had to go to the bathroom again and again. Just as the meeting started, I was not able to breathe. So I told myself to take a deep breathe. Breathe in---out---breathe in---out----. After more than ten deep breathes, I was able to breathe as normal person do. Although with my hands and legs and voice quivering, luckily I was able to deliver my speech smoothly. Hearing the hands clapping for me after the speech, I felt relaxed and fulfilled.

Pressure is everywhere in our life. Life is in a sense a battle, a battle we have to get victory out of. Face your pressure, don’t let yourself confined to it, conquer it and be the master of your life