The Wisdom of Seinfeld

One of my favorite TV shows is Seinfeld. A particular episode that I like is "The Serenity Now" (stay with me..this has a point!). At one part of the episode, Jerry Seinfeld (main character) makes a decision to start sharing his emotions more freely. He tells his friend George to start trying it, too:

Jerry: George, letting my emotions out was the best thing I've ever done.

Sure I'm not funny anymore, but there's more to life than making

shallow, fairly-obvious observations. How about you?

George: All right... here goes...

A few clips later, we return to George after he has shared his emotions with Jerry:



George: So, that's it. All of my darkest fears, and... everything I'm
capable of. That's me.

Jerry: Yikes. Well, good luck with all that!

Isn't this always our worst fear when we confide in someone? There is always a risk involved when being vulnerable with someone- it could come back and bite you.

But, in order to achieve Emotional Health (the first leg of the "bar stool"), it is absolutely necessary to have friends to confide in. Studies have suggested that having a strong social network can improve the immune system and overall health.

Think about who you can turn to with difficulties that you face. If you get stressors off your chest, you will probably see them in a more manageable light.

The Bar Stool- A Picture of Health?

In seventh grade, my teacher told me that health is like a barstool. There are multiple components, and if one component is out of balance…the whole thing crumbles.

This analogy has been a very effective analogy for me, from middle school to my current college years. It reminds me that I need to be worried about things besides my cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

All of us (especially college students) need to consider all FOUR legs of the “bar stool” of health:

1)   Mental Health – Includes topics ranging from anxiety, to stress management, to depression

2)   Emotional Health – Similar to mental health, this category includes the way you feel about yourself, the quality of your relationships, and your ability to manage your feelings and deal with difficulties. The idea of “community” has always been central to my feeling of emotional health…which is something that I’ll talk about in later posts J

3)   Spiritual Health – My Health class defined this as “feeling of purpose in life.” My relationship with Christ has provided me with purpose, meaning, and comfort. Also, spiritual “communities”, such as churches, can provide some of our emotional health needs.

4)   Physical Health – What most people think of when they hear the word “health”

In later posts, I want to explore each of these categories more in-depth. But for now, I wanted y’all to have an overview of where this blog is headed!

All Work and No Play Makes a Dull Student

Lately, I've been reflecting on the idea of balance (hence the name of this blog). It's so important, but something that is rarely talked about. As we run from activity to activity and try to pad our resume with lots of good grades and extra curricular activities, we start to believe that busy=healthy.


But that's not necessarily true. Yes, it's great to feel a sense of belonging and to be involved in the campus around us, but we need a balance of work and play. If our commitments are starting to stress us out rather than giving us a sense of belonging, we need to reevaluate our schedule.


My challenge to all college students this week is to focus on YOURSELF. Put aside the cell phone, the laptop, and the over-planned schedule. Take time to relax, and come up with practical ways in which you will handle stress. Here's a few to get you started, courtesy of Helpguide.org:


- Identify sources of stress in your life
- Learn how to say "no"
- Share your feelings
- Don't try to control the uncontrollable
- Look for the upside
- Set aside relaxation time


You may think these are common sense, but what a difference they can make!