Stress is commonly defined as a response to a challenge or threat. Reading the previous definition, one can assume that stress always has a negative affect on humans. But assuming that all stress is negative can be untrue. (B.E. 6) Humans, whether they realize it or not, choose what affects them and what does not. Therefore a mood is just a choice made by a given individual. Valerie Bertinelli explained this situation by saying, “Happiness is a choice. People have the choice to be happy. There is going to be stress in life, but it is your choice to let it affect you or not.”(Valerie Bertinelli) In my life stress plays a large role in everything I do. I combat and manage the stress I am put under by simply focusing on what I can control. Many individuals I see stress about things out of their control. This happens commonly in basketball. Many players I have seen play out of their means and worry about things they cannot control such as the height of the other team. Alan Stein- energetic, intelligent, and helpful- is a basketball strength coach and basketball guru who coaches at Dematha High School, one of the best basketball programs in the nation. (10) Stein wants his players to…show more content… Students, athletes, adults, children- all types of people are affected by negative stress. (9) Negative stress is a large reason why people do not preform well in school. Stressing over tests and large assignments in many cases leads to lost sleep that only adds on to negative affects of stress. Negative stress can also be created by past events. In this case again, stress is a choice. Remembering how badly a student did on a past test or assignment is a choice made by many students which effects them negatively. The same happens in sports. If an athlete is dwelling on a previous play that did not go their way the chances that the next play will be positive for them lessens drastically. These types of situations go back to dealing with “playing
