LAST week, I shared insights into the importance of setting goals in your academic life, which included, among other things, your goals will be able to make you accountable for your academic performance, help you focus on your studies, help you keep track of your performance, help you in time management and in selection of friends to hang around with.
This week, I’m discussing what you should prioritise as you set goals, key areas you need to consider. Every successful person you meet will tell you they began to plan their lives by setting goals and targets.
They will also tell you they drew up resolutions on how they were going to achieve their set goals. Additionally, in scriptures we see God telling us that He has plans for us, plans to prosper us and to give us a bright future.
If God has plans for your life what excuse do you have not to write something on a piece of paper at least for a year on how you are going to lead your life as a pupil.
As you set your goals and resolutions think about the following key areas;
Your academic performance- Were you satisfied with your academic performance for the just ended year? Was your performance a reflection of your teachers and parents inputs and sacrifice in your academic life?
If you were not satisfied, there is room for improvement. Refuse to be limited by last year’s performance, set new goals and targets. Resolve to perform better.
You can set new goals, firstly by analysing your performance in certain subjects. For example, think about those subjects were your performance was not impressive.
Resolve to give it more attention by allocating it more time on your time table, look for study material with regards to the same subject, consult your friends and teachers and change your mindset that no subject is hard for you.
Additionally, you need to change the mindset towards the same perceived giant subjects.
I remember reading a book were a medical doctor shared how he could tell patients who were going to recover fast from their ailments. There were patients who were optimistic that they were going to recover in spite of the pain they were experiencing, at the same time they were those who had given up.
Those who made up their minds and remained hopeful were the first to recover, whilst those who had given up could not recover in most cases.
Just few weeks ago I was on a wedding line up of a colleague who just got married. During one of the rehearsing sessions, we complained against one of the dances he was choreographing and told him how it was impossible for us to master it. When the Chorographer heard us, he reassured us and it was something easy if only we paid attention and told us he does not choreograph impossible dances.
He further advised us to remove the impossible vocabulary from our minds, after that we changed the attitude and decided to add some effort, by the time the big day came we were all geared for it.
After the dance sessions ended, the words the chorographer said echoed on my mind ‘I do not chorographer impossible dances’, I remembered how often pupils have complained against certain subjects and considered those subjects hard and impossible to pass. Which is not a fact, if only they can pay attention during class lessons, resolve to study hard and consult from their friends and teachers.
Secondly, set goals on how you are going to continue well in those subjects you are naturally good at. There is a tendency in pupils in their pursuit to improve performance in other subjects they end up neglecting those subjects in which they are naturally good at. As much as you want to improve in those subjects were your performance has been below average. Set goals on how you are going to maintain momentum of your passing in those subjects were you are doing fine.
I should confess I had a competitive mindset during my school days, though I never expressed it to my classmates but kept it to myself. I was naturally good in social sciences, commercial subjects and Agriculture science.
In fact, I received more awards in these subjects compared to any other subjects. I continued studying hard in these subjects, however I continued setting goals and targets on how I could improve in other subjects such as math and sciences.
Additionally, you need to change your attitude towards school life, your teachers, class mates and subjects you think are too difficult or boring. Your attitude towards subjects plays a major role in your performance.
I remember, one of my former pupils sharing how she hated History until the time I began to teach them. The reason was simple, I began to tell the class why history is the best subject one can ever learn, and at the same time it was the easiest subject- quite possible to have a distinction in History.
Look out for next week’s article as I share more insights on areas to prioritise as you set goals for 2016 academic year. For comments write to, email: rodrickmakupe@yahoo.com. Facebook page: Academic and Kingdom insights with Rodrick Makupe. Contact: 0979700937/0964351029