<p>This is what goes on in my mind. It leads me to feel depressed or angry at myself somewhat often, which is pretty unpleasant. I'd rather not have that happen. Help?</p>
<p>[ol]
[<em>]"Fail" at something (math competition, college admission, etc.) - I don't perform as well as I expect
[</em>]I hate myself for being so stupid and I'm a failure - why couldn't I solve that problem, why am I so bad at writing essays - how come my friend can do it and I can't?
[<em>]But it's impossible for me to be stupid (objectively, at least) - SAT/AP/GPA are decent, and I can do decently on a few math competitions; and I'm also not a failure, because I'm almost certainly going to get into some good colleges and get a degree and find an OK job, etc.
[</em>]I'm not considering the feelings of the people who are worse off than I am
[<em>]I hate myself for being so insensitive and I'm a terrible person
<a href="After%20being%20successful%20at%20something%20I%20view%20as%20at%20least%20somewhat%20important">*</a> Maybe I'm not so bad at this after all. But this is just one thing... think of what I've done badly in the past
[</em>]Inevitably, go to step 1.
[/ol]</p>
<p>(This actually applies to anything that's even sort of competitive and that I care about - for example, a less annoying version of this happens when I play Team Fortress 2.)</p>
<p>Energize, you are not alone. Many of us have had the same issues. Try to get outside and get some exercise; it is really good for your mental health. Make a list of all the great things about you. Use some uplifting music or a funny movie to clear out the negatives. Perform a random act of kindness. Hang in there. This is an incredibly stressful time of the year for those applying to colleges and your feelings are normal. Good luck.</p>
<p>exercise is huge like the above poster suggests. Don’t count it out.</p>
<p>For me, as someone who is like you, one of the biggest things that helped me out was understanding that being positive helps your productivity. So not just in terms of trying to put a smile on, but understanding that liking yourself makes a huge positive impact on your studies. I keep a document where every day I force myself to write down my exercise, what I’ thankful for, etc. What this does is rewire your brain to think positively, which helps your productivity, which helps you to think positively. and it just becomes a circular type a deal. There is a ted talk on this that gave me the idea. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Okay, first of all you have to accept your emotions. All of them. At this point don’t worry about being selfish or whatever. They’re emotions, they’re there, so don’t fight them. Once you confront your emotions, you can start changing them. Tell yourself again and again that you’re going to let them go and replace them with positive emotions. It’ll take time. But it’ll work. Only once we’ve accepted our humanity can we make the change!</p>
<p>You know how John Wooden, the coach who made the Pyramid of Success, defines success? It’s doing the best that YOU can do. So you really need to just give it your best shot and accept whatever happens. Even if you keep getting sniped.</p>