I believe that we were victims of our own stress. Due to when Christmas falls this year, tonight was our last rehearsal before this coming Sunday, Christmas, the next Sunday, and the Sunday after that (Epiphany). Our list of songs that we needed to get through filled the white board. With our opening prayer and warm-up we only had about 7 1/2 minutes to spend on each song ... and the third song took half an hour.
I find that I tend to do more poorly when I tense up. While I tend to do more when under a deadline, there is a fine line between the healthy stress of a deadline and the unhealthy stress of feeling like I am trying to do the impossible. Often, this is one of my main complaints about being a teacher. Especially during our professional development sessions, the impression is given that we need to do more, spend more time and energy, and accomplish the impossible. Most frustrating is when any child's lack of motivation becomes our fault. That is not healthy stress, and I often find myself scanning the room and watching people shut down.
We need to be challenged in our lives, but the challenges need to be within our grasp. As we approach New Years and their inevitable resolutions, this is an important lesson to remember. Our goals need to be attainable and reasonable, not something that makes us shut down and give up entirely.