A GUIDE FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS by Muhd Diroy

THE MAKING WAVES SERIES: BOOK 2

A GUIDE FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS STAYING FOCUSED ON YOUR DIRECTION

ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS Published in Aisa in 2017 by Sandu Publishing Co., Ltd. 20 Kaki Bukit View, Kaki Bukit Techpark II, Singapore 415956 Tel: (65) 6742 2088 Fax: (65) 6744 2088 enquiries@pageonegroup.com www.pageonegroup.com

Sponsored by Temasek Polytechnic Edited and produced by Temasek Polytechnic School of Design â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Communication Design Chief Editor: Muhammad Diroy Bin Noordin 1206710d@student.tp.edu.sg www.tp.edu.sg Text used in this book obtained from Essential Life Skills.Net www.essentiallifeskills.net ISBN 978-981-4394-90-1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. For information, contact Page One Publishing Pte Ltd. Printed and bound in Singapore

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/////CONTENTS Introduction

XXI

Academic

Increase Your Brain Power

How to Visualize

Effective Goal Setting

Improve Your Memory

Stress Management

How We Learn

A Productive Mind-set

The End

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INTRODUCTION Making waves in the face of adversity. The theme and motif of the wave in the ocean is highly symbolic and meaningful. In itself, it can be interpreted as eternity as its movements that never cease; or it can also be seen to be temperamental as sometimes it surges with powerful force or at other times gently laps the shore. Because waves in the oceans symbolise the power of nature at work, humans have seen in them the potential of humans to mimic its strength or conversely they can be seen as symbols of adversity humans hope to overcome. As such, wave patterns and crest formation can be used to signify human behavior and emotions. For people who are handicapped in some way, whether physically, intellectually or emotionally, waves take on significant meanings. These series of books aims to provide advice on essential life skills to people with such disabilities so that they can lead a fulfilling life.

A DREAM DO BECOME REA THROUGH M IT TAKE SWEA DETERMINAT AND HARD W

OESN’T ALITY MAGIC; EAT, TION, WORK.

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INCREASE YOUR BRAIN POWER

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Increase Your Brain Power with Classics Consider reading and learning about Classics to increase your brain power, learning capability, and expand your cultural literacy. • As a big believer in each of us developing our intellectual capabilities, I recommend classical studies as a way to broaden your knowledge base. Classics, or Classical Studies, deals with the literature, art, history, philosophy, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Why the Classics? How could reading about classics possibly be of practical use in increasing brain power?

Here’s why: 01/ Because it’s fun and entertaining and provides a basis for the enjoyment of many movies, comic book heroes and video games that contain references to classical history and mythology e.g. Troy, Gladiator, O Brother Where Art Thou (movies), Hercules, The Fantastic Four (comic book heroes), and God of War (Playstation2), to name a few. 02/ It feeds the imagination if you want to be a writer (or aspiring blogger). J.K. Rowling author of the Harry Potter books studied Classics and uses much classical terminology and references in her books. The first Harry Potter book has been translated into both Latin and ancient Greek.

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03/ It enriches and broadens our understanding of western culture, history and literature giving us an appreciation for where our language and customs originated, as well as a sense of connection to the past.

06/ So much of our medical and scientific

04/ It helps us understand the human condition and ourselves. For instance, Greek mythology was then, and serves today as a study in human nature, the dynamics of the human mind, human behavior, and the forces that drive us. We learn about jealousy, love, grief, narcissism, good and evil. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fast tracking for Life 101.

names because the ancient Greeks either in-

05/ The skills and knowledge acquired through the study of Classics are highly transferable to other areas. For example, the ability to deal with precise details, to express yourself, problem solve, think critically and manage your life are all honed and sharpened by having studied Classics.

evolution. The Greco-Roman influence has had

terminology is rooted in Classics that learning about the Greeks and Romans can facilitate the study of anatomy, astronomy and physics. Many of our modern sciences have Greek vented them or made significant contributions to them. 07/ Becoming familiar with classical literature gives us perspective and an understanding of European and English literary genres and their such an enduring effect on every aspect of Western culture including languages, history, philosophy, literature, science, technology and art.

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Interesting facts about Classics and Classical Studies: • The first written record of Greece and the oldest form of Greek literature is Homer’s Iliad (circa 1000- 900 B.C.) • A book of maps gets its name from Atlas, the Titan who supported the heavens on his shoulders. • The point of vulnerability is an Achilles’ heel, because the mythological warrior Achilles had been magically protected in all but that part of his body. • Our calendar goes back to the ancient Romans and the 7-day-week was introduced by the ancient Hebrews. • The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. was inspired by the statue of the Olympian Zeus by the Greek sculptor Pheidias. The designs on Lincoln’s armrests are a Roman symbol for justice and republican government.

• Law schools report that their top students come from math, the Classics, and literature rather than from political science, economics and legal studies as one might expect. • David W. Packard of Hewlett-Packard was a former professor of Greek and Latin, and Chris Martin from the band Coldplay studied The Classics.

“IN SCIENCE, READ BY PREFERENCE THE NEWEST WORKS. IN LITERATURE, READ THE OLDEST. THE CLASSICS ARE ALWAYS MODERN.” — Amy Lowell

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HOW TO VISUALIZE

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Visualization A Key To Achieving Your Goals Visualization is an important personal development tool. Just as affirmations can help you motivate yourself and focus better to achieve your goals so can using visualization or mental imagery. Although it has only become really popular as a personal development technique since the late seventies and early eighties, we as humans have been using it since the beginning of time. Whenever we have an idea or notion to do something we visualize it first. For instance, if we’re hungry and want to eat we picture different food possibilities; whether we want to cook a meal or go out to eat, and whether or not we want company at our meal. When we have a function to attend we picture what type of outfit to wear and where we might shop for it.

“VISUALIZE THIS THING THAT YOU WANT, SEE IT, FEEL IT, BELIEVE IN IT. MAKE YOUR MENTAL BLUE PRINT, AND BEGIN TO BUILD.” — Robert Collier

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What is Visualization?

How does it work?

It is the use of the imagination through pictures or mental imagery to create visions of what we want in our lives and how to make them happen. Along with focus and emotion it becomes a powerful, creative tool that helps us achieve what we want in life.

Visualization or mental imagery works be-

Used correctly it can bring about self-improvement, maintain good health, help you perform well in sports, and accomplish your goals in life.

the nervous system in the same way as the ac-

In sports, mental imagery is often used by athletes to improve their skills by picturing the achievement of a specific feat, such as hitting or shooting a ball, skiing a hill, swimming or running a race, among other things.

trains it and creates the neural patterns to teach

Using it as a technique invariably results in a much better performance and outcome. This also holds true in business, or in life, such as in delivering a speech, asking for a raise, or any other situation that requires preparedness and forethought.

strong mental game. Most coaches preach that

cause when you imagine yourself performing perfectly and doing exactly what you want, you physiologically create neural patterns in your brain, just as if you had physically performed the action. The thought can stimulate tual event does. Performing or rehearsing an event in the mind our muscles to do exactly what we want them to do. In the case of competitive sports, not only are exceptional physical skills required, but so is a sports are 90% mental and only 10% physical. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why so many athletes train in visualization or mental imagery along with their physical routines. To be effective, like any skill, mental imagery needs to be practiced regularly. The four elements to mental imagery are relaxation, realism, regularity and reinforcement.

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When To Use Visualization » Success. See yourself performing skills at a high level, achieving your goals, being who you want to be and living the life you want.

» To do a run-through. Athletes and performers

» To motivate. Envision yourself achieving your goals vividly to remind yourself of your objective and what you need to do to reach it. Many athletes, actors, and singers “see” and “feel” themselves performing a routine, program, or play several times perfectly in their minds before they actually do it.

to focus and eliminate some pre-performance

» To familiarize or set the stage for a performance/event. Mental imagery can be used effectively to familiarize yourself with the surroundings before an event, such as a competition site, a racetrack, a stage or a difficult play or routine prior to a competition.

often do a complete mental run through of the key elements of their routines. This helps them jitters, thus making them more comfortable when the time comes to compete or perform. It also serves as a warm-up or mini rehearsal. Visualization is a wonderful tool for preparing for anything, and everything. It invariably results in a higher level of performance.

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How to Visualize What you want: The Benefits of Visualization

01/ Go somewhere quiet and private where you won’t be disturbed. Close your eyes and think of the goal, mood, new behavior or skill, you want to acquire.

• Helps you focus better in order to achieve your goals

02/ Take several deep breaths and relax.

• Inspires and motivates you.

03/ Visualize the object or situation you desire in your mind as clearly and with as much detail as you can.

• Helps you improve in a sport or skill.

04/ Add emotion, feeling, and your senses to your vision.

• Can boost your mood by using positive, pleasant imagery to alter negative emotions.

05/ Practice it at least twice a day for about 10 minutes each time.

• Helps build self-confidence.

06/ Persevere until you succeed. 07/ Maintain positive thoughts and a good attitude throughout.

• Can be used to rehearse and then acquire new, positive behaviors.

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EFFECTIVE GOAL SETTING

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Effective Goal Setting The purpose of effective goal setting is to achieve what you want in life in a successful, focused and decisive manner by taking the right actions in a lesser time frame. Who doesn’t want to achieve more in less time? Yet, many of us abandon our goals before we accomplish them. Why is that? Some of the reasons include: lack of confidence, not having a workable plan for achieving them, being unrealistic by expecting too much too soon, fear of failure, and lastly, putting too much pressure on ourselves to accomplish them. Luckily there are strategies and behaviors we can adopt for successfully setting and achieving goals.

“A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND LEAGUES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP.” — Confucius

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How do you start?

at the ‘big picture’ of your life. Start a journal

Know that you deserve success and achievement. Before beginning the process of setting goals, know that you deserve success and that it is achievable for anyone who puts their mind to it. You must believe you can do what you set out to do and that you possess the talents and abilities for doing it. Unless you begin with this crucial premise, your efforts will be thwarted and you will fall short of accomplishing what you want.

or workbook and write down for yourself the

Determine what you want One of the biggest problems people have in setting goals effectively is not knowing what they really want. Lacking a clear concept of what you want in life makes it difficult to proceed. The one thing all successful people have in common is that they are extremely focused and intensely goal oriented. They know what they want and they understand it takes setting goals to achieve it. A good way to begin the process is to take the time to write down the goals most meaningful to you and then list what you would need to do accomplish them. To figure this out you can look

answers to some of these important questions: • Do I want to be in the best of health and what will it take to get there? • What do I want to achieve in my career? • What kind of family life do I want? • What kind of lifestyle do I want today and in the future? • How do I see myself in 5, 10 or 20 years from now? As an example, under the goal of maintaining good health, you can jot down: exercise 3-4 times a week, eat a balanced diet of protein, fruits and vegetables, get 7-8 hours of sleep etc. For where you want to be in 5 years, you might include: finish college degree; be earning an income of x amount of dollars; have a serious personal relationship (or avoid having a serious relationship until career is established).

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Plan, organize and prioritize your goals in smaller, manageable chunks If you look at everything you want to achieve all at once, you might find it daunting and overwhelming, so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best to organize and prioritize your goals. Instead, devise a workable plan for each item you want to accomplish. You know that your health goals need to be ongoing ones, so establish a daily routine or agenda that you can keep up on a regular basis. For a career goals, categorize them in monthly, quarterly or yearly chunks. List points, or plan the actions required to attain a particular point in your career. This may include taking the odd supplemental course, doing extra reading, or volunteering in the community in order to get exposure and experience. Since careers take time and effort to build, planning and organizing your moves makes good sense.

Review, update and revise Review and update your goals on a regular basis to ensure they are still relevant to you. Doing so also keeps you on track and taking the appropriate steps and actions. If some of your strategies arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t working, fine tune them, or devise new ones. Likewise, figure out which obstacles and distractions are getting in your way and determine what you need to do to overcome them. We all know there will be setbacks and bumps in the road along the way to achieving our goals, but we need not let them hinder or take us off course. Revise and adjust the game plan where, and when, you need to. Stay focused and motivated. Staying focused and motivated is probably one of the hardest things to do when setting goals. It is common to periodically fall off the wagon however, it is essential to get back on track as soon as possible.

GOALS

A great tool for keeping you focused is the journal or workbook you’ve been maintaining. Go over it regularly as a reference point and to remind yourself what you want to accomplish.

Successful Goal Setting

Set up routines or habits that will ensure you stay on track. For example - do your exercises at the same time each day; drink your protein shake first thing in the morning. Other helpful techniques for staying motivated include the use of relevant affirmations and visualization. Many successful people, especially athletes, swear by both. It’s important to ‘see’ yourself accomplishing a goal before you actually do. Positive affirmations implant positive thoughts into your subconscious, which in turn, prompt you to take the right actions to achieve your goals.

SMART Goals S = Specific M = Measurable A = Achievable R = Relevant T = Time–Bound

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The Benefits of Setting Goals • Give you the ‘big picture’ direction you want your life to take • Help keep you organized and focused • Build self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment • Help you achieve success more efficiently and in less time • Make the small day to day tasks more meaningful and purposeful

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Goal setting, and certainly effective goal setting, has been a tried and true method for achieving success and accomplishment in life. Without it we would drift aimlessly and waste valuable time and effort in pursuits that lead nowhere. So start now! Decide which goals are most meaningful to you and devise a plan for achieving them.

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IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY

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How to Improve Your Memory There are many ways in which you can improve your memory and the more you work at it, the better it becomes! Memory is the mechanism by which we are able to store, retain, and recall information. As simple as it may sound, the process is a complex one which involves many different parts of the brain and serves us in a wide variety of ways. As with so many of our other functions, the saying “use it or lose it” applies as aptly to the brain, as with anything else. The more you exercise your brain and nurture it with a good diet and healthy habits, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information. Before we get into how to improve your memory, it would be helpful to understand how it works.

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For example here are parts of the brain used

Memory also entails communication among

for memory:

the brain’s of neurons, which are the millions

• The hippocampus is the primitive structure deep in the brain that plays the single largest role in processing information as memory. • The amygdala is an almond-shaped area near the hippocampus, which processes emotion and helps imprint memories that involve emotion. • he cerebral cortex (the outer layer of the brain), depending on what kind of pro-

of cells activated by brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Memory can be short-term or long-term. In short-term memory, your brain stores information for a few seconds or a few minutes. It is capable of holding, on average, about seven items at a time. Long-term memory involves the type of information that requires a conscious effort to retain, and then recall. This would include studying

cessing the information involves, such as

for tests, factual data, or personal events; such

language, sensory input or problem-solv-

as the first time you were able to ride a bike,

ing, stores most long-term memory in its

or recalling your favorite movie. Another type

different zones.

of long-term memory is procedural memory, which involves skills and routines that you perform so frequently that they don’t require conscious recall.

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Tips on how to Improve Your Memory 01/ Exercise your brain. The best way to exercise your brain is to engage in new experiences or expose it to varied sensory stimulation. When you break with routine or do something that is challenging, you create new brain pathways. An illustration of this would be writing, or dribbling a basketball with your non-dominant hand, or taking a totally different route to work. An example of sensory stimulation, would be smelling a particular fragrance while listening to a certain piece of music. To stir up brain activity in yet a different way, you can pick something usually done by rote, or on automatic pilot, and consciously change the way you go about it.

02/ Pay attention. It is very difficult to remem-

It is also a well know fact that people who engage in activities that exercise the brain, such as reading, writing, and playing card games, can delay the rapid memory decline that occurs as we age.

you can read out loud, even recite rhythmic-

ber something if you’ve never learned it in the first place. It takes about eight seconds of intent focus to process a piece of information through the hippocampus and direct it to the proper memory center. If you do not concentrate, get distracted easily, or are doing several things at once, your chances of retrieving specific information will be non-existent. 03/ Incorporate as many senses as possible. While there are many different learning styles, such as visual, auditory and kinesthetic (touch), no matter which type you are, you can incorporate all of them in the process of trying to remember something. If you’re a visual learner ally to remember better. If you’re an auditory learner, create a mental image or look at pictures as you read out loud. Relating information to colors, textures, smells and tastes is also very helpful.

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04/ Organize Information. A good way to remember new things is to make associations and connect information to what you already know. Building on what you know helps you remember new material. Also, write important things down in notebooks, calendars and postit notes, then reorganize the information in a comprehensive way in order to retain it. 05/ Review frequently and over-learn. Go over what you’ve learned the same day you learned it, and review it frequently. When you review and over-learn information, it becomes embedded in your memory and therefore, so much easier to recall. It is also much more effective than trying to cram. 06/ Use Mnemonics. Mnemonics are a memory tool or technique used for remembering difficult information. They are clues of any kind that help us remember something, usually by associating it with a visual image, a sentence, or a word. For example, “30 days hath September, April, June and November” is a rhyme for remembering the number of days in each calendar month. Another example of mnemonics would be to “chunk” information. Chunking is when you arrange a long list into smaller units or categories that are easier to

remember. To remember a long number, you could chunk it into groups of 2, 3 or 4 for easier retention. You can also code and structure information by using vivid mental images. When you make the images colorful or even unusual, they are much easier to recall when you need them. 07/ Practice good health habits. Exercise regularly. It increases oxygen to your brain and reduces the risk for disorders, such as diabetes and heart disease. Poor health, of any kind, contributes to memory loss. Likewise, get plenty of sleep and eat properly. Sleep is necessary for concentration and clear thinking, while good eating habits supply the nutrients needed to nourish your brain. 08/ Stay motivated and maintain a positive attitude. When you are positive about learning and experiencing new things, you automatically improve your memory. On the other hand, if you tell yourself you have a bad memory, you will actually impede your brain’s ability to remember. Maintaining a positive attitude sets up expectation of success.

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STRESS MANAGEMENT

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Stress Management Strategies — How to Deal With Stress Stress management strategies are more important than ever in these chaotic, uncertain, and quickly changing times. Our modern lifestyle is fraught with deadlines, pressures and various frustrations on a day to day basis. No wonder we find ourselves frazzled, spent and overwhelmed. Of course, stress isn’t always a bad thing. In small doses it can help motivate you by providing the edge needed to gear up to a higher level of performance. Quite often it can be the push that propels you to do your best; however, if you always operate at full throttle, it will take a hazardous toll on your mind and body.

“THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN INCREASING ITS SPEED.” — Mohandas K. Gandhi

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What is Stress? A Stress is a normal physical response to real or imagined threats. It is the body’s ‘fight-orflight’ reaction to impending harm or danger - a necessary defense mechanism wired into us since the beginning of our existence. When working properly the stress response helps us stay focused and alert. In extreme cases it’s what gives us both that extra boost of strength and energy to defend ourselves in life threatening situations, as well as the ability to react with extraordinary speed and presence of mind in the face of imminent danger. Of course, the type of stress we deal with daily is somewhat different from the stress needed to keep us alert and vigilant. The stress that we need management strategies for is the type that makes us feel ‘not in control’ and damages health, productivity, relationships and overall quality of life. While it may appear that we have no control over this type of stress, we have more than we realize.

For one thing, while we may not be able to control certain stressful situations in our lives, we can certainly control how we respond to them and we can respond by taking charge of our thoughts, emotions and manner in which deal with them. Stress management entails changing what we can about a stressful situation when possible, or changing our response to it when we cannot. Ultimately, the goal is to live a balanced life with time for work, leisure and relationships by having the ability to deal with pressure and stressful situations with resilience and composure.

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Strategies for Dealing With Stress Identify the stressors in your life. As simple as it sounds, many people aren’t even aware of what stresses them out, nor does everyone find the same things stressful. One person’s stress can be another’s challenge or motivation. Similarly, few people realize how much their own thoughts, feelings and behaviors contribute to their stress. We are each in charge of how we interpret events in our lives. We are also in charge of behaviors such as procrastination, lack of organization, and inattention that lead to deadline worries, not paying bills on time and inability to accomplish important tasks which, in turn, cause stress. Therefore, the first import step is to identify the stressors in your life and the ways you might be contributing to them.

Simplify Your Life. If you are burning yourself out by doing too much, start cutting back on some of your unproductive, yet time consuming and energy draining activities. No one can do everything. Set your priorities and make room for doing what you value and find most important. Equally important is learning to say NO! Delegate and redistribute tasks if you have to, but don’t try to do it all. Hire a cleaning service one day a week, get a baby sitter to pick up the kids after school, have a lawn service do the landscaping. Feeling stressed and overburdened comes from taking on too much and not balancing it with relaxation and down time.

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Reduce effects of stress by eating well, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep. I don’t know about you, but when I’m hungry, sluggish (from inactivity) or tired, I am very stressed and grumpy! Not getting the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy causes both mental and physical stress; so does not getting enough sleep. And regular exercise not only releases tension and stress while you’re doing it, it builds stamina and endurance enabling you to handle stress better. Most people totally underestimate the importance of maintaining good physical health to ward off stress and anxiety.

Some constructive ways include:

Accept that there are things you cannot change. As we all know, there are many things in life beyond our control such as the death of a loved one, job loss, illness, or even the behavior of others. As difficult as it may be at first, in such cases, the best thing we can do is accept things as they are. Secondly, we can choose how to react to the event.

disagreement with someone, and similar situ-

» expressing what you are going through to a friend or therapist (healing) » keeping a journal to record thoughts and feelings (cathartic) » looking for opportunities for growth; learning from the experience (productive) » developing resilience (building inner strength) There are also more common causes of unavoidable stress such as job interviews, taking an exam, having to make a presentation, a ations. In such cases it helps to to know how to stay as composed as possible. Deep breathing techniques, visualization (mentally rehearsing the event) and preparing yourself as much in advance as you can, dramatically lessens the stress you will experience.

Manage stress in healthy ways. Do you currently cope with stress in healthy or unhealthy ways? If your current coping mechanisms are unhealthy, you are compounding the problem. Unhealthy ways of handling stress include, abusing alcohol, taking various pills, smoking, over or under eating, watching too much television, taking your frustrations out on others, and overall avoidance of your problems. If you are already under stress and dealing with it in ways that are detrimental to your health, you are making matters much worse by compounding the stress. Not surprisingly, we all have unique responses to stress and how we choose to handle it. The trick is to find what works for YOU!

One of the best studied stress relievers is the relaxation response, first described by Harvard’s Herbert Benson, M.D. The beauty of this technique is that it requires no special posture or place. For instance, if you happen to be stuck in traffic, or if you’re having trouble falling asleep you can do it. Here’s how: 01/ Sit or lay back comfortably. Close your eyes and relax your muscles. 02/ Breathe deeply. To make sure that you are breathing deeply, place one hand on your stomach, the other on your chest. Breathe in slowly through your nose and as you do you should feel your stomach (not your chest) rise. 03/ Slowly exhale. As you do, focus on your breathing. 04/ If thoughts begin to interfere don’t dwell on them, just allow them to pass and return to focusing on your breathing.

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More Healthy ways to Manage stress • Meditation, yoga, or biofeedback techniques such as brain stress reliefwave therapy • Exercise by going for a walk, lifting weights, jogging • Spend time outdoors at the beach, in the woods, or sailing • Have a chat with a good friend • Take a hot, fragrant bath • Go for a massage • Listen to soothing music • Set aside 20 minutes a day to do whatever you want, even nothing • LAUGH more; watch a comedy movie or show — it relieves tension (See Article on Humor)

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Unhealthy ways to deal with stress • Excessive drinking • Using drugs or pills to relax • Sleeping too much • Over or under eating • Watching too much television • Withdrawing from social activities • Taking your stress out on others

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Harmful Effects of Ongoing Stress • Adversely alters your body and brain chemistry (stress hormones, cortisol) • Weakens your immune system • Heart disease, hypertension, heart attack, stroke • Depression and anxiety • Ulcers, gastrointestinal irritabilities • Skin problems, hair loss • Headaches, migraines • Sexual dysfunction

We all know that life can be stressful, sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s avoidable and sometimes not; however, if we take responsibility for how we handle stress and implement effective strategies to deal with it, stress will become a manageable component of everyday life, not a health damaging one.

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HOW WE LEARN

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The Four Stages of Learning a Skill According to a classic psychological model of individual learning, before we acquire any skill there are four stages of learning or competence that we go through.

Easier said than done — right?

It’s probably no surprise to anyone that personal development, like anything else, entails becoming skilled at various positive behaviors. How could it not?

nothing happens overnight. By understanding

Everything we do requires awareness first, then learning and application and then practice. Merely reading about a healthy self-concept, developing humor, resilience or positive thinking isn’t going to get us there. We must first figure out what skills we require and then proceed to incorporate them into our thinking and behavior.

If we understand that there is, indeed, a process and that it takes place in stages, we can be more patient with ourselves and realize that the four stages of learning a skill, we can concentrate on the learning process itself and not feel bad about where we’re at and why we don’t know everything already.

“THE PURPOSE OF LEARNING IS GROWTH.” — Mortimer Adler

“LEARNING IS NOT ATTAINED BY CHANCE. IT MUST BE SOUGHT FOR WITH ARDOR AND ATTENDED TO WITH DILIGENCE.” — Abigail Adams

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Here are the four stages of learning any skill, and then as it relates to personal development: 01/ Unconscious Incompetence At this stage you don’t know what your problems are or how to identify them. You may or may not know that something is not working, but you have no idea what it is or how to go about fixing it. In other words you don’t know what you don’t know. You are going through life feeling that something is missing; you’re plodding along but not really paying attention - you just stumble along. 02/ Conscious Incompetence With conscious incompetence you are aware of a lot of your problems, but you don’t know how to correct them. You may understand what is needed, but have no knowledge or confidence in how to get it. You may feel overwhelmed by how much you need to learn.

Soon you begin to realize that you are unhappy with yourself, your relationships, your career and you’re stuck in a rut. You know you have to do something but have no idea what or how to go about it. You start reading about personal development but feel overwhelmed with how much there is to learn. 03/ Conscious Competence In this stage you know how to correct your problems but it will take time and practice. You know what you know, and can apply it as long as you are concentrating and focusing on it. You have to think your way through the process and it feels unnatural and foreign. It is outside of your comfort zone. You have realized that there is no other way to improve, but to apply yourself read and do what is needed. It’s time to put to practice what you have read and discovered. It is difficult, yet fun because you are stretching yourself, growing and your life is becoming more meaningful and productive.

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04/ Unconscious Competence

The same with roller or ice-skating. First you

You know what you know and you no longer have to think about it. You have become so skilled at it that it’s automatic and comes naturally. In fact, you do it unconsciously because you no longer have to think about it. Speaking your native language is an example of unconscious competence.

had to learn how get up and keep your bal-

So here you are on the path of personal development. You know it’s an ongoing process, but because you’ve incorporated many positive habits, positive thinking and positive behaviors, your life is less of a struggle and more of a progressive journey. You don’t think in terms of obstacles; you think in terms of opportunities and ways in which you can improve yourself. As I’ve mentioned the four stages of learning pertain to how we learn anything in life. Until we know better, most things seem easy. For example, take riding a bicycle. Before you knew how to ride one, it probably looked easy until you got on and tried to ride it. Then you realized how incompetent you were at it.

ance. Not so easy! Then you’d fall a few times and maybe even get a little bruised (ouch!). In order to get better, you had to keep practicing until you got really good at it. After a while, low and behold, you no longer had to think about what you were doing and it became smooth sailing. So it is with any skill. Keep improving and working on yourself until it becomes second nature. Not only will you get the most from life, you will live it to your full potential. — As Mark Twain said:

“COURAGE IS RESISTANCE TO FEAR, MASTERY OF FEAR, NOT ABSENCE OF FEAR.”

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A PRODUCTIVE MIND—SET

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What is a productive mindset? A productive mindset is one that makes the best use of your resources – your time, your energy and your efforts. It is not trying to do everything and be everything, or even doing it in the quickest way possible. It is making the most and best of what you have while enjoying the process. In order to make the most of who we are and what we have, there are certain qualities or characteristics that assist us in accomplishing that end.

“AS THE SOIL, HOWEVER RICH IT MAY BE, CANNOT BE PRODUCTIVE WITHOUT CULTIVATION, SO THE MIND WITHOUT CULTURE CAN NEVER PRODUCE GOOD FRUIT.” — Seneca

Here are some of the elements of a productive mindset: • Curiosity – The willingness to seek, question, and find answers for new and better ways of doing something. • Desire or Motivation – Cultivate desire. Without desire or motivation there is nothing to drive us to progress and improve. Inertia is the opposite of desire and a destroyer of progress. • Vision – To be able to visualize what you want helps you focus on it and gives you an idea of what the outcome would look like. Without that picture in your mind, it would be more difficult to strive for a goal. We’ve all read how men of ‘great vision’ have been able to accomplish the seemingly impossible.

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• Critical Thinking – Acquire the ability to

• Positive attitude or outlook – Your atti-

assess a situation in an objective manner

tude, be it positive or negative, can make,

or to see it how it really is. Look at the pros

or break, you. Possessing a positive attitude

and cons and be willing to make the ap-

allows for any possibility, while a negative

propriate adjustments. • Self–confidence – The faith and belief that you are fully capable and can do what you set out to. Without self-confidence and faith you cannot reach your full potential. • Persistence – Most things do not come easily. Be willing to overcome obstacles and adversity. Challenge yourself and persist in

one defeats you before you can even start. • Open–mindedness – There is nothing like an open–mind for generating new and innovative ideas. You become receptive to groundbreaking experiences when you are flexible and open-minded. • Balance – Ultimately, to function well and get the most from life, we must maintain balance. Working towards goals is im-

order to reach your goals. Do not let circum-

portant, but we must also take time to re-

stances, the opinions of others, or setbacks,

juvenate and recharge. Doing too much,

thwart your determination to succeed.

or pushing too hard on any one thing, can lead to burnout and frustration.

DISCIPLINE, FOCUS, PERSEVERANCE, CONFIDENCE–THESE ARE THE NECESSARY COMPONENTS OF A PRODUCTIVE AND CREATIVE MINDSET. — Jim Bouchard

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THE END

ISBN 9789814394901

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