As society develops, it is not difficult to see young people who have already taken the lead in their chosen field. However, behind the pinnacle that everyone desires are pressures that only those involved can understand.
The reality of young people under pressure with the "top" position
According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and the Department of Business Registration, on average, each year, Vietnam has about 100 students winning first prizes in the national excellent student selection exam, more than 100 thousand new businesses are established with tens of thousands of CEOs and leaders. In addition, we also have leaders of associations, groups, clubs, etc. The above situation leads to the fact that young people are increasingly under pressure when they have to compete with friends and compete with their own achievements.
Accordingly, leadership pressure is a common problem that leaders in different fields have to face. This pressure can be due to many factors, such as having to constantly strive, having to resolve conflicts, making decisions or developing people in a group. For a leader, they are always in the mentality of being responsible, whether it is something that they directly caused or not. At the same time, they are also often under pressure from superiors to get the job done and from subordinates to consider the wishes and needs of members.
The pressure of the leader often appears when there are factors from external and internal forces. For outstanding individuals, they are always looked up to and admired by others for their success. However, that look creates expectations that society places on them, creating invisible pressures. Having achieved a high position, the leader must always try his best to maintain and develop his position. That is also the process of non-stop activities that Le Minh Dang, a student of class 11D3, president of the Academic Club, Nguyen Tat Thanh Secondary and High School - Hanoi National University of Education is walking: "Everyone always thinks that the president of the History Club must be good at history. That is the reason why I feel very stressed. In any program or competition related to history, I am always the first person on the list of participants. Even in the Club, because I am the president, maybe everyone always has the inherent thought that I am the person with the highest expertise. So many times I have caused disappointment to everyone when I could not win first prize in the excellent student competition or similar."
In addition to external influences, young people are also under pressure from themselves. When reaching the highest position, instead of being happy, young people continue to face a greater fear. Can I stand firm and reach further? What must I do to be worthy of this position? In the future, will I stagnate and be unable to escape my own huge shadow? That is also what Nguyen Bao Van - Valedictorian of the Academy of Journalism and Communication is worried about.
Is early success a double-edged sword?
In fact, success is not a destination, success is a process. It is the process of receiving good news, recognizing problems and continuing to develop to improve yourself. We cannot deny that when we are young, if we achieve great success, it is a miracle and the admiration of everyone around us, especially our peers. However, early success will have two forks, either more success; or stagnation and start to decline rapidly.
In the first case, early success is a stepping stone, creating momentum for future achievements. Bui Quang Dat - a first-year student at the Academy of Posts and Telecommunications - Gold Medalist of the 2023 Student Math Olympiad shared: "I always set goals for myself. The first thing I did was join the school club. Maybe for everyone, joining the club is too normal, but this step helped me achieve my dream of participating in the Math Olympiad and winning a Gold medal."
However, if the leader cannot bear that pressure, they are easily discouraged. From there, the downside of "halo" will lead people to "rest on their laurels".
Impact on the psychology of the leader
Although we know that “pressure creates diamonds”, sometimes pressure causes young people to have some psychological problems. According to the explanation of Master of Psychology Nguyen Thanh Tam, leaders are often looked at with admiration and are told that they do not have to worry about anything. In fact, in addition to being responsible to their superiors and having obligations to their subordinates as mentioned above, they have to endure much more than that. Leaders must maintain prestige in their profession, maintain their reputation, maintain a prestigious position for themselves and for the ecosystem around them. Not to mention, each individual is different, so their own problems and their own lives are also different.
As a young person who always has high aspirations and goals, Quang Dat confided: “I realize that I have great ambitions and the pressure is growing day by day. When faced with pressure, I often feel discouraged and want to give up everything. I am a person who is often pressured when entering the exam room. Every time I encounter a difficult problem that I cannot solve, my hands start to shake and when I can no longer hold the pen, I get confused and am no longer alert enough to think about how to do the test. Pressure also makes me easily get angry with the people around me, causing me to lose motivation to continue working. From then on, the quality of my work also goes down, my spirit and health are also reduced due to pressure.”
In addition, this type of pressure can easily cause individuals to become exhausted, have no time to take care of themselves, can lead to lack of sleep or eating problems, negative mood in management when not pleasing anyone. And then, you will be isolated from society - Expert Thanh Tam shared.
Faced with pressure, what should a "leader" do?
According to the American Psychological Association, more than three-quarters of adults report symptoms of stress, including headaches, fatigue, or difficulty sleeping. These are all manifestations of pressure. More and more young people are having to see a doctor early because of psychological instability. Faced with such crises, many young people sometimes do not know how to lose the whole open road ahead.
Accordingly, psychologist Nguyen Thanh Tam gave some advice to young people who have been under pressure, especially those who are "in charge": "First, recognize the signs of stress such as muscle stiffness, teeth grinding, stomachache, stomach pain and some other symptoms. You should take time to take care of yourself. Make sure that you are always in a state of alertness to decide everything. If at that time, you cannot recognize what you are doing, right or wrong, right or wrong, you should have some space, take deep breaths to make a clear decision. Or you can also choose to exercise, talk to friends and family, get enough sleep, maintain a reasonable diet to have a healthy mind. If you still cannot heal yourself, you should see a doctor for the most scientific solution."
In addition, experts also emphasize the importance of surrounding relationships. Each person needs to maintain this resource because they will be the best support, give advice and pull us out of that chaos. In particular, leaders are often ambitious. They never feel satisfied with what they have achieved. Therefore, they often have the thought of not recognizing the results they have achieved, always paying attention to the next goals and criticizing themselves for small mistakes. Experts advise that we should congratulate and acknowledge our small victories as well as our bigger victories. Recognize and be grateful for the smallest successes, it will make a difference.
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