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3 Ways How to Reduce Stress at University

Joshua Singh • Jul 30, 2019
I’ve completed my Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Auckland and often times first year university students get overwhelmed with the assignments, exams, fast paced environment and a lack of support. What you put in at uni is what you’re going to get out. If you invest time in relationships and your network you’ll get out of it potential job offers and long-term friendships, if you invest your time to just study you may get high grades but not grow in your interpersonal skills, so balance is the key. 

I know people who have just studied, never met new people, never really took hold of opportunities and today have a limited network and a crap job. Anyways, back to stress. Students get stressed because they let university get to their heads because they have no capacity to handle pressure. I recommend you to embrace hardship and let it become your new normal and as a result your capacity will increase and growth takes place

Set your mind

An average student will endure 3-4 years of lectures. I think we get too caught up with the pressure of attending that we quickly forget the reasons why we’re there. Are you studying for the sake of it or are you actually wanting to study because you want knowledge? I know MBA students who work at petrol stations and they are not satisfied, because they did it for the wrong reasons. Why are you studying what you’re studying? Are you passionate about it? Are you going to stick to your degree rather than changing every 6 months and increasing your debt? Book knowledge is good but life knowledge is crucial and to a certain extent university gives you wider perspective of people and different experiences. Set your mind to have a purpose.

Expand your network

Meet people. Develop professional connections and get on LinkedIn. Who you hang around with at uni matters, I’m glad I always studied with people who were smarter than me and helped me along the way. I stress this because your friends have differing perspectives on study material and collaborating your notes and ideas create a room for growth. The average student pays about $18-20k over a couple of years educating themselves, that price includes access to lecturers, tutors and unfortunately most students I know haven’t even bothered to get access to this kinda stuff. There's no reason to shy away from tutors and lecturers that you pay for - they get a very good salary,  use these resources to its full capacity.

Learn your learning style

Don’t study anything unless it excites you. What do you want to do with your time at University? Are you enjoying what you’re studying? Or is it just pure stress and unnecessary pressure? There’s no right way to study. You have to find your rhythm quickly, if it’s visual, use visual aids, If it’s listening to someone teach, maybe listen to a recorded lecture and record yourself saying out the material, whatever way you learn, dominate it and become a master of your technique. Even before going to university you should really consider and check the way you learn best. I know of engineering students who never went to lectures, but still passed with flying colours.

University is not life. The best way to succeed at university is to ask questions, organise yourself, make a plan what you want to do, take breaks, sleep and don't put off assignments. Keep on top of things so you don’t have to deal with the pressure. Think of university as just a season of your educational life. Never stop educating yourself as knowledge is power. 

If you don’t like what you’re doing, do something about it!

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By Joshua Singh 07 Aug, 2019
The term ministry is understood and interpreted differently by many people in the kingdom. So don’t go into ministry to be personally famous or because you are ambitious. Go into ministry because you know God has called you. As I write my thesis and near its completion, I wanted to share my thoughts so far on my journey. It’s been delightful to be a part of a wonderful church and to walk through the process of becoming who God is calling me to be. The call to ministry is a call to equip and empower the people of God for a unique purpose, and expansion of the kingdom. Here are three ideas I have learnt so far in the last couple of months Embrace Process In a generation of instant gratification, ‘process’ is a word that is completely overlooked and undermined. God has clearly been showing me the power of process and how significant it is to the development of a man or woman of God. I would encourage every young person not to rush the process but to work on the character. Running away from process delays your appointed time. Don’t focus on being a big minister, focus on being an effective minister. Prophetic words are an indication of where God may want to take you, but ask God to show you his process and a path. The ‘process’ is a season to develop intimacy and become conversational with God, learning his ways. The process develops your dependency on the Holy Spirit. The process eliminates junk Eliminate Pride If you go into ministry desiring a platform to preach you might not last because the foundation is weak. Pride is a subtle tactic of the enemy. Offence deals with pride Offence tests the condition of your heart Offences will affect your intimacy with God Preachers, teachers, elders, leaders, whoever you are: God tests your heart through the offence! And if you’ve been in church long enough you’ll know that one of the major reasons for people leaving the church is an undealt offence. I think if you’re going to eliminate pride, you need to be processing every offence out of your life or else it becomes a future trap for the enemy to use against you. I love Jesus, He had such a big heart that offence had no room. Extreme Passion If you are in ministry, in order to last you need to have a passion for people. God’s heart is for his children and if there is no passion to see people succeed and to see them fulfilling their purpose then you might just have a career and not a calling. I know today that there are many in ministry that are not serving for people but for a paycheck. One of the things I have reminded myself constantly is that God’s work really matters and that I have ability to influence whether people will be with God or away from God, for eternity. This article is written for the purpose of helping young people thinking to join the ministry or already in ministry so that they keep the focus on Jesus.
By Joshua Singh 07 Aug, 2019
This is a special interview with my friend Shreya, It’s been a while since we sat down and shared our conversation publicly. Get UP & CLOSE, hearing life experiences and stories of Shreya Kant. We talk about relationships, church, ministry, film, everything up and close + You’ll hear Shreya stuff you’ve never heard!! Wisdom Wednesday Episode 15 is a bit different this time, I wanted to bring something unique!
By Joshua Singh 07 Aug, 2019
Every human being is a spirit man that has a soul that lives in a body. God uses all three parts to build his kingdom. When you’re saved your spirit man is justified before God. In other words, God sees you through the eyes of Jesus as you stand in his righteousness. However, as you come into the kingdom, one intention of the Holy Spirit is to regenerate your SOUL and take you in the journey of sanctification. Sanctification is the process of being purified and processed so that you can produce more fruit for God. My article is not so much about the spirit man, it’s about your soul. I truly believe in the power of the soul and it’s impact on a persons life when it is healthy. The soul is made up of mind, will and emotions. Sanctification is a LIFE LONG PROCESS…. Please never think that when you are saved you will never have pride Or that you will never be offended or hurt, or attacked…. No. I believe many reading this may have been hurt in the past through unmet expectations, broken relationships, a divorce, an undealt offence, or have buried it rather than dealt with it. I want to highlight how offence continues to work in the soul if it not processed. Person A says something to Person B that hurts the heart. Person B can do three things 1 – Go into isolation, bury the issue, never talk openly to a wise person 2 – Go to the Pastor or leader to complain 3 – Go to Person A and restore, reconcile the relationship and move on Most people do 1 and 2 but do not openly go to the person who has hurt them and talk about what the issue is. If you do not deal with the root of offence you live a very unfulfilled life and your perception of people may alter over time. I know some great people with potential that have snuffed out God’s dreams for their life simply because they hold onto things of the past. Do you realise that if Person B is holding grudges and refuses to let go of past wrongs; this type of emotional wound is yoked to a spirit of bitterness and infirmity that can manifest in various crippling illnesses? Do you realise that God is calling you to live in freedom? Friend, my encouragement to you is simple. Dealing with your offended spirit requires you to go and make peace with the person and admit that you’re hurt and reconcile as soon as you can. Pursue peace with all men, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord, watching diligently so that no one falls short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness spring up to cause trouble, and many become defiled by it. — Hebrews 12:14 – 15 P.S Don’t post your hurts on Facebook. Prayer for Offense Thank You, Lord, that I walk in love. You said in 1 Corinthians 13 that love is patient and kind. I confess that I am patient with others and I am kind. I do not keep track of wrongs. I do not hold grudges. I am free from offense. I break the power of offense off my life in the name of Jesus. I choose to walk in forgiveness toward others. I choose to release all pain and wounds. Father, I thank You for Your nature, Your love, and Your mercy operating in me toward others. I release all hurts, and I declare Your love is washing over me now in Jesus’s name.
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