Are you heading back to school and trying to get your mind right for the new school year? I totally understand what it feels like at the beginning of a new year, determined to do really well and get my head right in order to successfully tackle the new year. In order to accomplish all that you have set out to accomplish for the new school year (great grades, scholarships, finding coveted internship opportunities, etc.), you have to 1) be determined to align your mind what your goal and create an action plan and 2) remain steadfast along your journey to not get sidetracked by anyone who wants to distract you or infuse negative thinking into your mindset.

1) A determined, goal-oriented mind with a plan of action:

One of the first things you want to do is figure out specifically what you want to accomplish,set certain parameters around that goal. For example, if your goal is to get a 4.0 in each semester, don’t just state that your goal is the 4.0. You have to create some type of plan of schematic that you can and are willing to use in order to achieve that 4.0. For example:

• choose classes that are challenging but are directly in line with your academic/scholastic ability so that you won’t pushing yourself to the brink in order to ace an exam or the class overall. (Try to avoid taking too many classes that are obviously easy “basketweaving” classes – you may ace them but having too many of them on your transcript will easily raise a few eyebrows with future employers or graduate school admission committees).
• Create a class and work management system of your own that you will stick to and help you manage your course load.
• Get outlines ahead of time for each of the classes so that you are prepared for the structure and flow of the material, as well as the content and its difficulty level throughout the course.
• Figure out your full schedule (including activities, work, etc.) so that you don’t overwhelm yourself or distract your time dedicated to classwork.

2) Maintain a steadfast mind on your goal and refuse to let negativity infuse your mindset:

Have you noticed how easy it is for someone to hate on one of your goals the moment you tell them what it is? You tell them that you want to be premed, and they say, “Really? You sure you can handle that? I heard that it is really tough.”  You say, “I want to go to law school”, and a herd of haters come out the woodwork telling you why law school is the worst path to take and give you a zillion reasons why you should take another path. You mention that you want to work for a certain company and want to interview with them, and someone tells you why the likelihood of you getting a job at that company is close to zero.

Some advice that I have successfully utilized throughout my academic career is to avoid haters and hold my goals and
desires close to my heart.  I didn’t share my plans with a whole bunch of people to get their input. If I did desire someone’s input on a particular goal, I was extremely picky about who I sought counsel from. And even when you are picky, goal haters can manifest in the form of your closest friend or confidante.

The reason why this is so essential is because you can literally psyche yourself out of your own goal by allowing negativity to infiltrate that goal. Even if you believe that you are determined and that nothing will distract you, your subconscious mind may very well start to believe the naysayers and you will somehow convince yourself to take another path.  Surround yourself with people who are positive and want to see you succeed and accomplish all of your goals. When I was in law school, I surrounded myself with positive-thinking eople who were similar to me – entrepreneurial/business minded people who wanted to use their law degree in a creative way.  I didn’t hang out too much with people who only believed that a person with a Juris Doctorate could be successful in a traditional legal environment (e.g., a law firm, working in a courtroom, etc.).

You will succeed this new school year with the right mind set, the right action plan, and having a steadfast, positive-thinking mind.  While the journey to your goal may be challenging at times, stick through the tough parts and you will eventually achieve what you truly desire out of this new school year. 

-Written by: Cafe Belle's Academic Barista