There are some demons I must overcome in order to become a better student. The demons represent my negative attitude towards my education. My procrastination towards my school work and the way I get easily distracted. I am writing about my flaws to better understand why I act the way I do towards my education. I am the only person who can solve this problem. In order to solve it, I must analyze the problem. These are the steps I will take to become a better student.
My first step towards becoming a better student is changing my attitude towards my education. I have an attitude of a quitter. If I do not understand a task, I will get upset. When I get upset, I tell myself the reason I do not understand is because I’m not smart enough. This will eventually lead to my decision to give up. I’ve told myself these negative views for so long that I’ve started to believe it. My performance in school is not at the level I know it could be. For example, math is a difficult subject. I have always had trouble with math. I remember my teacher telling the class on Friday that we were going to have a test on Monday. I started to study for the test, but I still was having trouble. I closed my book and enjoyed my weekend. When I took the test on Monday, I failed. I told myself, oh well I knew I was going to fail. I was creating an alibi for failing the math test. Professor Dan Gilbert refers to this term as synthetic happiness. Synthetic happiness is defined as a person who did not receive what they wanted and the person will pretend that this is what they were aiming for in the beginning. I am guilty of committing the act of synthetic happiness. Being happy is a right that all human beings have. So why not combine the concept of happiness and education. Flow, according to Csikszentmihalyi, is the state in which one is immersed in an experience that is rewarding in and of itself, a state in which we feel we are one with the experience, in which “action and awareness are merged”. I can take the concept of flow; apply it to all my classes. I will be able to learn better. I understand education is not this annoying task that I have to do. My education is my way of expanding my horizons. To show the world what I am capable of. I have to understand that everything is not easy or something I’m going to find interesting. The material I find difficult will one day become a task I can handle. If I continue to have a positive way of thinking, I will go far in life. Anything is possible if I believe it is. Failure is not a horrible thing. I should not get so upset to the point where I want to give up. I should not get upset because I can learn from failure. I can become a better student. I can view failure as my motivation. If everyone in the world were all perfect, then there is no room to grow. There would be nothing to learn from. I want to be proud of my accomplishments. I know this process will not happen overnight but it will happen. My mom always told me “you can do anything you put your mind to”. I will put my mind to this and become a better student.
My second step towards becoming a better student is to stop procrastinating and being distracted. The reason I act this way is because I find the work too difficult. I don’t have enough time to complete the assignment. I will begin to feel anxiety. When I avoid the school work, I start to relax. I find it hard to go back to doing the work. I will participate in activities that I find interesting. The time comes; I know I have to finish my assignment. There would be an angel on one shoulder and a devil on another shoulder. The angel would tell the person the right thing to do. The devil would tell the person to do the wrong thing, which is usually what the person wants to do. In my case, the angel would say “complete the assignment“. The devil would say “I have all the time in the world, continue to enjoy yourself“. Another factor that triggers my procrastination habit is the stress in my life. If I have a personal issue, it will remain on my mind while I’m working on an assignment. This is a huge distraction. I will not complete my work and try to escape. When I escape I feel like my problems are on hold and I feel better. It is a bitter sweet moment. The sweet part is I’m getting away from my issues. The bitter part is if I do not complete the assignment, I will receive grief for not doing the work. Also, I will not understand the topic. I have to learn that my education is important. My education will always be here but my problems will not. I have to get my priorities straight. I do not want to be anti social but there should be a time for everything and everyone. A solution to my issue is time management. Time management is important because I have less of a chance to feel like I’m drowning with school work. I will have time for both my personal and student life. Another solution would be asking the professor for help during their office hours. I will understand the work and be able to focus. I will make time for everyone and everything in my life.
I have completed my steps towards becoming a better student. I understand myself. I’ve acknowledged where my problem comes from. Admitting my flaws is not something; I would’ve done in the past. In the past I would’ve blamed other people. I was not taking responsibility for my actions towards my education. I am taking charge from this day forward. I will become a better student, most of all I will become a better person.
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