There are so many concepts and principles in this world that we take for granted, that we assume we have under control, or that we even have convinced ourselves that we have mastered, and in so doing, ignore them completely and make a mess of things. I just finished a college course designed to instill in me the concepts needed to succeed as a student, but more than that, succeed in life in nearly every facet required of us as we progress through employment, parenting and familial relationships, learning, and so much more. This college course was aptly named “Skills for Success,” and I wasn’t sure I needed the class, but it was required of me for my return to the collegiate and educational world.
As I progressed through the chapters, I was surprised at the common sense that was explained so thoroughly, but written in such a way that made it seem new, more powerful and important than I realized, and also convinced me that I had taken things for granted and not fully implemented in my life the principles that I thought I knew so well. I first learned about an acronym spelled P.O.W.E.R., which can be applied to all aspects of our lives, which is, Prepare, Organize, Work, Evaluate, and Rethink. I have always struggled with being organized and procrastination, and if you know me well, you will be nodding your head so vigorously in agreement with this sentence you may need to see a chiropractor.
From learning basic principles about setting goals to understanding diversity, I began to comprehend how setting more things in my life in order could benefit me not only as a student, but also as a member of humanity. Learning about several intensive and thorough ways to utilize time management was so meaningful to me, that I have begun the process to make three different calendars as the class suggested, a master calendar showing months ahead, a weekly calendar showing the days of the week and times of each day, and a to-do list for the next day made the night before. This is a complete turnaround for me from a casual and go with the flow type of person drifting through my day, to one that is focused and task-oriented, thus ensuring I get my obligations taken care of. I was able to be very organized while I worked at eBay and had the luxury of using Outlook to plan my meetings and days, but now that I am home and recovering, my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro have all combined to keep me honest with my time and calendars.
I was able to learn how much my successful learning style depends on my being able to read and write text, with a fair amount of success with auditory and visual demonstrations, but surprisingly a tactile experience also grants me an enormous chance to absorb information and retain it. After seeing my own styles for communication reflected in my learning styles, I also saw how my wife fit in there as well, and am working on ways for us to continue communicating more effectively with writing things down instead of just speaking them. Realizing that being literally hands on with learning has been an incredible tool to help motivate me to do as much as I can physically, although it is difficult for me due to my health issues.
I have never realized so much about myself in many ways before the in-depth analysis I used to determine how I wasn’t making the most of my time, learning as well as I could, organizing in a meaningful way, or any number of the concepts I reviewed in my course. Life can be stressful as you all know, with money issues, health, a diverse world, having to make the tough decisions, and communicating with each other being but a few of the things we all deal with. “Skills for Success” started as a chore for me, but has wound up being an incredible blessing and opportunity for me to change my life for the better.
-Tater
