Reflecting On Your Story: Remembering Your Path To Success
As the fall semester approaches its end, this time of reflection is a great way for many people to share their experiences of the semester. Going into the holiday season, the relaxation and rest after a long semester provide an opportunity for remembering moments that made experiences fun, lessons that taught growth, and how far professionals have come on their respective student affairs paths. This lesson is one of my favorites to share with students and peers when they are having a bad day or need some motivation to reach their goals. Sometimes life leads us to question ourselves and the idea that we need to achieve more to be happy, which can stop leaders from seeing the benefits of their success. The more we look back at those special moments, the less fear about the future or questioning of self-worth will occur.
For this blog, I wanted to create some great motivational tips to encourage others to keep their eyes on the prize of success even if there are some goals and expectations that may require more time to achieve.
1. Make a “Success List” from the semester – When the fall semester started, I decided I was going to create a list of goals to be accomplished during the year. This list ranged from small goals such as projects at my graduate assistantship, grades on long term assignments, and professional opportunities to major goals such as completing leadership projects, presenting at a conference, and other milestones for the semester. Not only did this list help with my personal development, it made the year seem like a big success for me. As a person who can be very hard on himself, having this list really made those moments in my life feel special and made bad days turn into positive moments.
2. Turn your goals that you haven’t completed into Coming Soon Achievements – Sometimes achieving a goal takes time, effort, and passion to turn outcomes into success stories. While it is important to keep your eyes on the prize, it is also important to remember that you have what it takes to still achieve those goals. An example I had on my list was to make my new position as a leadership trainer for the Residence Hall Association successful with five leadership projects for the organization. This was a goal that would not only take time, it would also take positive leadership and motivation. Even if I just created two or three, rather than seeing it as a shortcoming, it was a positive outcome to say, “That’s two or three more than before,” which made the experience fun and a great success for the academic year.
3. Reflect on Your Experience– Whether you are a graduate student, emerging professional, or experienced leader, make sure you take time to reflect on how far you have come. This moment you are in now will be a great memory of the lessons and experiences that help make your future brighter. As I finish this semester, I reflect on being a first year graduate student at this time last year and the feeling of finishing my first semester in my higher education program. As a second year student, I look forward to the spring toward graduation and a wide range of new experiences. Despite how far the journey may seem, never give up on your path to success and remember to keep being the person that you believe in.
“So remember to reflect on the awesome person you are today and use future goals and aspirations to lift you up rather than bring you down. You got this and your story is only filled by your personal pages of success.”
“All great achievements require time.”-Maya Angelou
> BONUS <
Podcast With Craig Bidiman on Supporting #SAGrad Success
