A new school year is beginning! I hope you are all excited about new challenges and opportunities to learn interesting new subjects. Or at least that you are excited about the clubs you will join and the sports you will play, and most importantly the friendships you will develop and deepen.
Last Year, This Year
Did you do well in school last year? That’s great! Keep going strong this year. Was your performance last year less than your best effort? That’s okay, this new year is a new opportunity to flip the switch and start putting forth your best effort to succeed.
I Know it Can Be Hard
Life can be rough for students – I remember being a student once upon a time. There may be pressure from parents to succeed. There may be pressure from teachers. There may be peer pressure to fit in with the “cool crowd.” There may be pressure from coaches who seem to always demand more. There are vocabulary words and common ions (here’s looking at you, chemistry class) to memorize, math assignments to complete, papers and essays to write – the list goes on and on. Maybe sometimes you feel that nothing you ever do is good enough. But don’t lose heart.
Take a deep breath, focus, and make the solid decision to consistently put in in a sincere, good faith effort. Whether you score an A or a B on that next test, the ultimate questions are – did you put in sincere effort to study and do well? Did you improve? Are you continuing to improve? If you can do better today than you did yesterday, and if you do better tomorrow than you did today, then that is a victory, regardless of anything else. Perfection is not a realistic goal, but consistent improvement is something we should all strive for. The Japanese language even has a word for this – “kaizen”, embracing the idea of improving by just a little bit every day, consistently. Over time this consistent incremental improvement can lead to significant gains and benefits. Trust the process and persevere.
One Step At a Time
Sometimes the whole deal may seem overwhelming. From my old copy of The Boy Scout Handbook – “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Instead of allowing yourself to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of everything, focus on taking one small step at a time. Focus on setting and attaining small, incremental goals. Rinse and repeat until you make it to the end of your long journey. For example, instead of thinking “what?! How can I write a 20 page term paper?!”, first set a goal of selecting a good topic within the next few days or next week. Once that goal is complete, set a goal of creating a detailed outline within one week. When that goal is complete, set a goal of finding at least 10 relevant sources within the next week. Then find another 10 sources. Then write the introduction. Then write the first five pages of a literature review of sources. Keep setting and attaining small incremental goals, and eventually you will complete the 20 page term paper. The harder things get, the smaller you slice the pie. But keep putting one foot in front of the other, keep making small, incremental progress towards the ultimate goal.
It is common knowledge how notoriously difficult Navy SEAL training is. It is hard to get selected, hard to stay in, easy to drop out or fail. The Navy did a study to try to understand what kind of person successfully completes training to become a Navy SEAL. They found that a common denominator among successful candidates is the habit of setting and achieving small, incremental goals. For example, if the instructor orders them to do a set of 50 pushups, instead of thinking “oh my goodness, this is so hard, how can I get through six months of this?” the successful candidate will focus on completing that set of pushups and meeting the standard. If the instructor orders them to do a five mile run, instead of thinking that five miles is too far, the successful candidate would focus on a point 50 meters or 100 meters ahead, and simply focus on getting to that point. Once they get to that point, they acknowledge the small victory, and pick a new point 100 meters further ahead to focus on getting to. Rinse and repeat, the candidate completes the five mile run.
Although you may not have plans to become a Navy SEAL or even join the military, this study carries a valuable lesson for all of us struggling to get through the challenges of life – because we all have challenges in this life. Your problems may be different than mine, but we all have problems and challenges to deal with.
Sometimes my business goals (earning enough to support my family without need for my wife to also be working a full-time job) feel almost hopeless, until I look at the incremental successes I have had and goals met so far. When I look at that, then I feel the fire and passion for my business re-ignite, I feel a warm glow of pride in how far I have come, and I am reminded of how much I love what I do as an educator, and my desire to succeed in running my business. David Goggins talks about the mental cookie jar. He talks about keeping track of all your little successes to date, and taking a “cookie” (savoring the thought of that success) to help keep you energized to keep going and working towards your long term goals. See the books Can’t Hurt Me or Never Finished for more motivational tips from David Goggins.
The Power of Imagination and Goals
Use your imagination for a moment, how good would it feel to finish this school year having accomplished significant goals and done well? Now imagine specifically what those goals are. Let that energize you. Next, break that goal down into smaller subgoals and targets that you would need to hit on the path to achieving the year end goal. What target do you need to hit in the next month? What about in the next week? Now that you know all that, go after it and get it done! Take it one step at a time, trust the process, persevere, and achieve your goals for this school year. I wish you all the best of luck in this new school year.
What do you think about all this? Please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!