You can prepare yourself to succeed in your studies by …
- Taking responsibility for yourself. Recognize that in order to succeed you need to make decisions about your priorities, your time, and your resources.
- Centering yourself around your values and principles. Don’t let friends and acquaintances dictate what you consider important.
- Putting first things first. Follow up on the priorities you have set for yourself, and don’t let others, or other interests, distract you from your goals.
- Discovering your key productivity periods and places. Morning, afternoon, or evening? Find spaces where you can be the most focused and productive. Prioritize these for your most difficult study challenges.
- Looking for better solutions to problems. For example, if you don’t understand the course material, don’t just re-read it. Try something else! Consult with the professor, a tutor, an academic advisor, a classmate, a study group, or your school’s study skills center.
- Looking to continually challenge yourself.
1. See every day as a fresh start. Don’t keep reviewing what happened yesterday.
2. Be true to your unique self. Don’t keep trying to please somebody else.
3. Stop complaining about your life and others. You can only change yourself so work on doing that.
4. Be proactive in creating your own life. Don’t wait for others to do what you can do.
5. Be committed to growing and changing constantly. If you’re not moving forwards then that means you’re slipping backwards (as nobody marks time or lives a stationary life).
6. Live a life that is fully consistent with your values – and don’t be afraid to say what you believe.
7. Write down all the things that you want to achieve, and then make a detailed plan to turn your wishes into goals.
8. Don’t waste time doing things you really hate. You only live once – so live the life you want to live.
9. Weigh any criticism, and try to learn from it – but also remember that others can be wrong!
10. Be the kind of individual who is usually positive, and seek to develop a “can do” attitude.
Acknowledge and embrace the following truths:
1. Aiming for perfection is a waste of time. Do the best you can – and be happy with that.
2. You can’t please everyone – so don’t even try. Just focus on doing what you think is right .
3. Participate in something you believe in.
4. Sort out your priorities and do the most important things first.
5. Be wise in your choice of friends.
6. Try to help others whenever you can.
7. As Judy Garland so said, “Always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of somebody else”.
8. Live in the present – where life is happening.
9. Focus on the positives, and what makes you smile.
10. Remember to be thankful.
