Doubt Not, Naysayer

By deciding to earn your degree, you’ve set your sights on a highly commendable goal. But the reality is that a lot of time will pass between the moment you apply and the day your diploma will arrive. Right now, you are like a novelist with a story in your mind. The writer can visualize the first scene and knows exactly how the story will end. (With a lucrative publishing deal and critical acclaim, of course!) But then reality sets in, the author realizes he must fill 300 blank pages. That’s when the panic sets in and the trouble begins. It will take many months of discipline and extraordinary effort to complete the work. 

Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.

― Malcolm X

You are now looking at page one of the book that is ultimately your life. Quite a few courses and many hours of study lie between you and your dreams. Perhaps the thought of following through with lesson after lesson is already taking its toll and you doubt that you will ever get around to writing that final sentence, to finish that last assignment, to earn that degree. You might doubt yourself. That doubt is your first obstacle to overcome. You’ll have to say to yourself, “I can do this.” That “will do” attitude is key to success and reaching the end. 

Many before you have taken this journey. They’ve had to tell themselves that they too could finish. They’ve too had distractions and had to set aside time to simply do it. Those who doubted their ability to read college-level textbooks, have learned to overcome that doubt. Even if it takes extra study time to understand the lesson, they kept at it. Others have had to balance making a living and finding time to do their assignments, but it has been done. If others have done it, so can you. That’s what you’ve got to keep telling yourself. Doubt is the great enemy of success. You must set aside your doubts, give up your excuses, and overcome your excuses. As Master Yoda once said, “There is no try. There is do or do not.”

The main reason that people fail isn’t because they lack intelligence, it’s because they give up. They don’t give up because they can’t do the work, they simply don’t dedicate themselves to the task at hand or develop the necessary habits. They let the world today keep them from their dreams of tomorrow. That, or they simply don’t practice the proven techniques for finishing what they started.

So what are the methods and habits of success? Read on and we’ll teach you.