Congratulations, if you’ve gotten into your dream college! If you’ve settled for something less, don’t be disheartened, this is what you can do.
Life is college is completely different from life in school. There’s a lot more freedom and a lot more chances of wasting your time walking around in circles for a couple of years before you actually sit down and think about your life. If you don’t want to look back at your college life full of regrets, here are 5 habits that you must change in college:
1. Getting into things without full knowledge:
First day of college, seniors be like…
As kids, we are constantly pushed around into things by our parents and teachers. We trust them to make the right decisions for us because we believe they have the best of intentions for us. In college, you will meet people who won’t have your best intentions in mind and will ask you for time commitments as soon as you enter college. Don’t say yes too soon. Evaluate the pros and cons before making any decision.
Also, there will be a lot of you who have chosen college over course. Or if not, you might not have read the course syllabus in detail. -Now’s the time to do so. Read a little on the internet about all the subjects you’ll be studying and what use these subjects can do for you in the future. This will help you develop initial motivation for the subject and you can get a head-start by watching videos and reading articles about the subjects. In case you don’t enjoy learning about the course you’ve chosen, you will have a chance to change your decision.
2. Making excuses for poor performance
“John is a man of focus, commitment, sheer will. Something you know very little about.” John Wick doesn’t make excuses. You shouldn’t either.
One of the 6 Harsh Truths, according to the website Cracked is that “The World Only Cares About What It Can Get from You”. You’ve got to ask yourself: What skills do you have? What sellable skills do you have? No one is going to hire you for your “hardworking and eager to learn” personality. Every other person has that. No matter the name of the college in your degree when you graduate, you’ll have a lot of trouble finding a job without something to give to the world.
The best way to be successful is to follow your passion. You’ll make a lot of mistakes along the way. You’ve got to stop looking for excuses to fail to pursue your passion. If by the end of three years, you feel lost with no direction in life, it’s probably your negative habit of blaming things on others. If you don’t have any sellable skill by graduation, it is your fault. No one else is responsible for your life but you.
It is about attitude. When you have the right attitude, you start finding solutions to problems where you have lack of resources
3. Multi-tasking
No matter what people say, multi-tasking is a highly inefficient way to do anything. Leave that to the computers. The best way to do something is to give it your complete attention. Swami Vivekanand will explain better:
“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”
4. Neglecting your body
If you’re just out of school, you’re probably out of shape. People sometimes “look upon their body as a transport for their heads…it’s a way of getting their heads to meetings” (Sir Ken Robinson). This is not true. The best way to life is when the mind is in harmony with the body. The mind supports the body when it’s almost given up, and the body supports the mind when it needs more strength to carry on.
Start exercising again. In a month, you’ll start seeing changes in your body. You’ll have more stamina, your core strength will increase and you won’t feel tired all the time. Your body is a temple; treat it such and you’ll find success to be in your grasp.
5. Living your life by someone else’s rules:
You’ll soon be called a grown up by your parents; act like one. This means doing things for your own purpose and not living for someone else. Each individual is unique and hence no two people can live their lives by the same rules.
Find the things that feel right to your soul and stick to them. You’re the company called yourself and these will be your core value. A company’s core values are guidelines that help the company make tough decisions. A company cannot compromise with its core values. You shouldn’t either. If you do, you’ll feel like a contradiction and your view of yourself will take a nosedive.
I’ll end with the advice Jon Snow got: There’s power in you. You resist it and that’s a mistake. Embrace it.
Begin your journey to greatness now.
Good luck, warrior.