Pressure is a privilege
(Excerpt from Chapter 2, How to be a Rotten Student.)
Every tennis player who heads out on to centre court of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, will walk past a plaque with the words “Pressure is a privilege,” proudly displayed. It’s a timely reminder of the honour that comes with competing at the highest levels of sport. The quote, by American tennis legend Billie Jean King, presents pressure as a positive force, something to be accepted as a pathway to success.
It’s a good way to look at it, as originally the word ‘stress’ referred to physical tightness or pressure. In the 17th century, the word began to appear in physics and engineering; it described the internal force exerted within materials when subjected to pressure, ultimately resulting in it breaking. We still associate stress with being ‘under pressure’ or reaching ‘breaking point’.
The gradual evolution of the word into the world of human experience can be attributed mainly to the work of Walter Cannon. Cannon was a medical doctor whose seminal work, The wisdom of the body, introduced the concept of the “fight or flight” response, describing how animals (including humans) respond to threats by either confronting them or fleeing from them. So in that context, the impact of stress was considered neutral if not positive; it was what enabled an organism to survive.
Billie Jean King wanted to say something encouraging to motivate her team-mate, Lindsay Davenport, before the 1998 US Open final. That’s when she said, “pressure is a privilege, and champions adjust.” Davenport won in straight sets to claim her first Grand Slam singles title. It’s the first part of the quote that is generally used; the second part is often left out, perhaps because not everyone ‘adjusts’. For many people, pressure and stress can have negative psychological and emotional consequences.
In the 1930s, Hans Selye explored the body’s biological responses to challenging or threatening situations. He observed that stress, which he likened to wear and tear on the body, triggered a series of physical responses. Selye published his findings in numerous works, the most notable being his 1956 book, The stress of life. It was an important work as it popularised the concept of stress and provided a framework for understanding how chronic stress could contribute to disease and an overall decline in health.
Today, the word ‘stress’ describes anything from the pressure of assessment deadlines to personal life challenges. The notion of stress is now more often related to the fast pace of life rather than immediate survival. Stress and pressure are hard to avoid in a modern world as it’s a natural part of being human. The advent of technology, 24/7 connectivity, and social media has led to a unique type of stress, one that our ancestors didn’t have to contend with.
Students are magnets for stress. The process of study brings with it assessment deadlines, presentations, and exams. With the end of semester looming, it’s not at all unusual to find my daughter Emily wandering around the house chanting her now familiar mantra, “I’m stressed; I’m stressed,” and eventually curling up into a foetal position on the floor. I somehow don’t think she would appreciate it if I took the opportunity to remind her that “pressure is a privilege.”
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