Get Smart About Higher Education: 5 Steps to Identifying When and How to Initiate Change

Change can be exciting and seen as a great opportunity, or it can be scary and the worst thing that can happen. Whether it is a good or bad experience depends on the person’s attitude. No matter how you experience it, normalizing change is the path to a fulfilled life.

The baby’s first steps are shaky, but eventually lead to failure. Transitioning from middle school to high school for the first time is something to look forward to, but upperclassmen can be intimidating. Leaving home to attend college means freedom and independence, but also the potential for homesickness, intimidation with overbearing professors, and difficulty connecting with roommates. The first day at the first real job is the beginning of a new chapter in life, but feeling completely stupid is common.

The above experiences are a common path for students pursuing higher education. Real change begins with making tough choices. After reaching high school, will the student respond appropriately or react negatively to bullies and gossip? Do you tend to the challenges of pursuing higher education rather than avoiding or rejecting it? Does fear of asking questions and false pride dictate how the new job goes?

Difficult choices continue as life goes on. Mel Robbins, author 5 second rule Adjectives with which he started coming out of bankruptcy personally and heavy drinking with a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown to launch out of bed in the morning. The story mainly revolves around the desperate need to change direction in her life by ignoring feelings and committing to work towards improvement. Mel claims the seemingly insignificant operation of counting 5-4-3-2-1 and release Getting out of bed instead of hitting the snooze button started a path to recovery that led to him being one of the best headphones in the world.

The key to Mel’s success is being smart about what needs to be done and taking action to do it by not giving in to what feels right. last Bad guy It is analytical paralysis that involves thinking too much and ultimately doing nothing. Although research varies, many agree that it takes at least 21 days to form a habit. The time leading up to habit formation is hard because change is a challenge! Failed New Year’s resolutions are a constant guide.

amenities Bad guy To analyze paralysis is a cognitive distortion. Cognitive distortions are simply ways in which the mind convinces itself of something that isn’t really true. Inaccurate thoughts reinforce negative thinking. The tricky part is that the rationale is built on the wrong ideas. Here are some common distortions that people use:

Pessimism – amplifying the negative while filtering out the positive.

Powerlessness – feeling powerless over what is happening in life.

Overgeneralizing – basing an opinion on one piece of evidence.

Blame – “It’s not my fault, you don’t understand.”

Emotional Thinking – Emotions automatically signify what is real.

Attempts at change are unlikely with pervasive cognitive distortions. This is why the five-second rule is so effective in completing a predetermined decision. The only thing to think about is repeating the 5-second countdown to take action. Distortions based on feelings or overthinking should be ignored.

Answering five questions is an additional aid in determining when and how to change:

Where are you? Take an honest and objective look at how you are right now physically, emotionally, relationally, mentally (academically), spiritually, and financially.

Where are you going and why? Write down dreams, have a vision, and a goal to stay focused.

Who are you? Know that everyone is gifted, gifted, and destined for great things. The hardest person to convince is you.

What do you do that matters? push it forward.

When and how will you initiate the changes needed to be smart about higher education and live a life that matters?

Start using the 5-second rule: 5-4-3-2-1 Start answering these questions now!