Welcome back everyone! Spring semester is finally here, congratulations, you pulled through. Moving from one semester to the next may not be as easy for some people as it is for others. There are moderate adjustments that are made from semester to semester. You may have harder classes, working more or less hours at a job, in the process of joining different organizations, you name it. Below are some simple tips to help you stay positive and motivated to have a successful and smooth semester.
1. Change negative habits
The first step to having a successful semester is to change any negative habits. This can include friendships, your living quarters, relationships, laziness—anything that is not beneficial to helping you succeed. Negativity does nothing but cloud the mind and judgment, ultimately effecting your reactions and responses to certain situations. Sit down and have a one on one with yourself, and ask these kind of questions: “How is this benefiting me?” “Is this situation helping me get closer to my goals?”If the answer is no, changes need to be made as soon as possible.
2. Network
Have you ever heard the saying it’s not what you know it’s who you know? Well, this is a pretty effective and accurate statement. Get to know others with similar mindsets and goals . Make a new friend, talk to a professor, get an internship, just go out and meet new people. Meeting others with similar passions can get you ahead, you never know who you can meet and what type of doors can be opened for you.
3. Eliminate procrastination
This probably should have been number one on the list, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to not procrastinate. If you have an assignment, don’t wait until the last moment to do it. Try to get ahead in your classes. This opens up more free time for you, keeps you organized and it establishes a set work flow for the semester so you will be accustomed to a schedule and knocking all your work out early.
4. Mindset
Your brain is a terrible thing to waste. Everything that we do on a daily basis starts with one powerful organ, our brains. Believe it or not, just from thinking positively everyday can alter your life. Think about it, if you’re sad and unmotivated all of the time, do you really think you’ll be getting good grades? The answer is of course not. Little by little start doing activities that help you have positive outlooks on situations. Whether you have to mediate, have morning tea and newspaper time or night yoga sessions—just find things that make you happy and feel better about tackling hard task. Positivity is key to success and will get you far.
I could list a hundred tips on how to remain positive throughout a semester, but these are the top ones that personally I have been practicing. Doing these things have helped me put a lot of things into perspective. A lot of things do not matter and we can become blinded to unnecessary negativity in our lives. As long as you at least follow these few simple tips, I guarantee you will see a change in your life.
HCXO!