ByYoumna Benmaymoun
Zsófia Balassa, a senior student who graduated this semester from McDaniel College Budapest, felt the necessity of sharing with the college students what kept her going while working on her final thesis, studying for her exams and preparing a plan for the coming year. In a presentation carried out in a TED talk style, she emphasized the importance of staying positive when things get tough and invited her public to take time to breathe and look on the bright side of life.
According to Zsófi, positivity is the key to getting good grades. Experience taught her that negativity has a snowball effect that will make negative ideas germinate in your head and one will feed the other. This is also the case for positive thoughts. If you start your day with a positive thought, you will end your day on a positive note. Even better, positivity will enhance your intellectual performance and creativity. According to Shawn Achor, an American author and happiness researcher, when we are positive our brains become more engaged, motivated, energetic, resilient and productive at work.
In order to increase your positive thoughts, Zsófi suggested that bringing gratitude into mind is an important thing to do. When you see life through grateful eyes, positivity flows automatically through your thoughts. Moreover, exercising, meditating and engaging in random acts of kindness are other techniques that help you push negativity away.
In her beautiful blue dress and with shining blue eyes, Zsófi finished her talk with a Buddha quote that shows what researchers keep on proving through their studies and that wisdom originates from old philosophies as well: “we are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
Zsófi graduated with high honors and her final thesis was described by her teachers as excellent.
