We are what we repeatedly do.

Albert Einstein said, “We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” 

Think about what you do on a daily basis and ask these questions:

• Are my daily activities moving me toward my goal?
• Am I doing the best job I can at whatever task I am preforming?
• Would I be proud of how I spend my time if someone shadowed me for a day?
• What activities and things do I repeatedly do?  Are they positive to my future?

Be sure to do something every day to move yourself toward your goal!

Motivational Goal Setting

My students often struggle with motivation.  Some students find that there are so many fun and distracting things to do that academics comes last.  Other students have an extremely tight schedule with family and/or work obligations and find it hard to squeeze in studying.  One way to keep you motivated and on track is to set goals for yourself.  An effective goal has three characteristics:

• It must be measurable
• It must be attainable
• It must have a definite time limit

Goals can be short term (day or week), medium length (month or semester), or long term (one or several years).

Here is a plan:

1. Set your goal for the week on Sunday night or Monday morning.  Make sure it fits the above three criteria.
2. Write it down.
3. Put it where you can see it daily.
4. At the end of the week, evaluate how you did and set a new or the same goal for the next week.

Here are some examples

Too vague, unattainable:

I will study harder.

I will never miss another point on an exam.

I will earn better grades.

Great goals:

This week I will go to all of my classes.

This week I will review my notes after every class.

I will study 1 hour a day for my exam next Friday.

What is your goal for the week?   Send it as a comment to this post or write it down and tape it to your bathroom mirror.  Good luck!

Characteristics of a Successful Student

In class this week we talked about the characteristics of a successful student.  The most common suggestions from my students included:

• Motivated
• Determined
• Persistent
• Optimistic
• Organized
• Focused
• Puts forth effort
• Works hard
• Organized

Students have displayed many of these characteristics in other settings such as sports.  We reflected on what students did to be successful at a sport (practice, not giving up, analyzing mistakes and adjusting, etc.) and then discussed how they could be transfer these attitudes and strategies to an academic setting. 

Another strategy is to focus on your goals – why are you in college?   You can set a goal for the semester (for example: be on Dean’s List, have chosen a major or career) and then post that goal where you can see it every day to remind yourself of what you want to achieve.

I asked my students to write a short paper and tell me:

1.) how they are currently displaying the positive characteristics they already possess and

2.) what behaviors they would be doing if they had other characteristics that they want to develop.

You can do the same if there are some characteristics from the above list or others you would like to work on.

In the next two weeks the topics will be:

Goals – how to set a workable, motivational goal

Motivational quotations to keep you going