The Probability of Success in Academics - Essay Example

Academic Success Learning process begins early life as from the time of birth when people begin learning the basic skills necessary for survival like breathing and feeding. Some of these skills are acquired through education, which is a process that involves the transfer of information and knowledge from one person to another. Education enables a person to develop the abilities of reasoning, judgment and attain a level of intellectual maturity. Education is offered in institutions like high schools, colleges and universities where one embarks on an intellectual journey marked by milestones characterized by tests and graduations. Success in education is determined by the interplay of many factors that contribute to an individual’s success both in academics and life. To be successful, extreme effort needs to be applied to reach your goals. Purpose, responsibility, hard work all lead to success. Students who apply these principles have a greater chance of achieving success. Therefore, this paper focuses on discussing the necessary steps an individual has to take to ensure or increase the probability of success in academics. Purpose in life is the greatest motivator in life, a life without purpose is at most meaningless because it lacks direction and the passion necessary to live a fulfilling life. When this is applied to academics, it plays the same role of charting a path for the student and determining the kind of attitude that a student is going to have towards achieving their academic goals. For a student to be able to properly harness the true capacity that is induced by purpose, they should first evaluate what motivates they desire to excel in academics and apply these motivators on self (Moon, 2008). According to Moon, students should endeavor to understand that excellence can only be achieved through individual commitment and participation and that no external factor can influence their success without their direct involvement. Applying oneself to the objective of excelling requires an individual to have a healthy self-esteem by thinking highly of themselves and being worthy of the high aspirations that they desire (Moon, 2008). Lack of self-esteem in individual confines the limitless potential that can be realized by the belief in one self. A student should be capable of identifying the reasons behind their aspirations and justify them as being able to satisfy their desired objective. The need to lead a better life, through improved living standards, can be cited as the drive towards achieving academic excellence because it presents more lucrative opportunities and advantages. Possessing a degree puts a person in a privileged position compared to a person who does not have a college degree (Salmi & Albach, 2011). A student must also weigh their options and decide if the road to success is dependent on acquiring a college degree. In today’s educational curricular, almost all aspects concerning life are taught, but there are people who argue that a degree is not an essential requirement to success, but all this coalesces to an individual’s perception of success and what they think is tantamount to achieving it (Forest, 2002). Forest argues that a person is charged with the responsibility of deciding on what approach to take to attain his or her version of success (Forest, 2002). Having a true and clear conviction, on the path a student chooses, is then required to understand that their commitment and dedication is paramount to realizing their goals. A student should strive to harness and tune into what actually motivates them, and ensure that the source of their motivation are never diminished or compromised, in any way, for there to be a sustained and long lasting effect on their drive to perform well. Academic success relies largely on personal responsibility on the outcomes realized through an individual’s efforts, and accepting that success depends wholly on them and that the responsibility is entirely for them to bear. Students should work hard with the notion that hard work pays, and the results they achieve is as a consequence of their actions. They should be aware of what contributes to academic excellence and try to focus their efforts in the direction in which their true potential lies. Academic success can be attributed to talent, ability, skill, effort, luck and the difficulty of the task, which can all come together to influence an individual’s performance. There are other parameters such as mood or attitude, personality, emotions, relationships, sustained stable or unstable effort and the moral support that one garners at home, school and from the community in general. In order to utilize these factors maximally, a student should analyze which amongst them puts them at an advantageous position and how they could contribute to their overall excellent performance (Moon, 2008). Student should always be in a frame of mind, which enables them understand and accept the outcome of their efforts without dampening their resolve, in case of an unexpected outcome and realize that their achievements about a particular thing are limited. Acknowledging that one has done what was required of them and to their best ability, is the best way to cope up with results earned whether they are positive or negative. The attainment of academic success is dependent on following up and implementing the measures, which one has put in place, as a blue print of their path to academic excellence. Aspiring for excellence does not guarantee success without a proper plan on how go about realizing these aspirations. A student should develop a strategy containing short-term and long-term goals in their plan, and execute it accordingly in line with the set objectives. Students should dedicate their efforts towards achieving educational excellence. This is because a dedicated and committed student assures his or herself of a sustained and stable effort input throughout the course of study. An individual’s responsibility should be organized in a manner prioritizing what comes first, in the steps to be followed, to achieve the ultimate goal. Students should also organize their lives in a way that any possible disruptions or distractions, which can negatively hamper the student’s concentration, in school, are minimized or avoided. A well-organized student has an easier time going through school and its curriculum more efficiently than disorganized ones. Organization is enhanced by being purposeful in all undertakings, which make it possible for someone to recognize opportunities to improve on self as well as their ultimate goal of excelling in academics and attaining a degree. As far as academic prosperity is concerned, a student should endeavor to ensure that there is continuous educational growth, by engaging in relevant practices, which attenuate an individual’s educational experiences both outside and inside class. Extracurricular activities can be viewed as pursuits that can advance an individual’s performance because these create opportunities to acquire contacts that help form networks that can be beneficial in later life, or even aid in schoolwork. Student networks are significant in the advancement of educational growth because exchange and dissemination of information and ideas is simplified into network groups that have something in common thereby avoiding duplication and reduces the time spent sifting through irrelevant information. Networks make studying easier and simpler by bringing people of common interest together. Time management skills are essential in achieving academic excellence because without this, there would not be enough schedules for everything. Therefore, a student must be ready to make concessions on the time they have. Sacrifices must be made to accommodate ample time and resources to those priorities that are aimed at advancing a student’s chances of improving in academics and guaranteeing success in life (Salmi & Albach, 2011). Students should strive to remain focused and ensure that their motivation remains high throughout by associating with those factors that promote favorable academic conditions and circumstances. In the pursuit of academic excellence, there must be frustrations along the way, but what matters is how someone handles them by either learning from them and making the necessary improvements for better results, or allowing these frustrations to serve as bench marks, which can only serve to demoralize someone, thus leading to inevitable failure. The way that a person handles a failure determines their success or failure because it causes a change in attitudes. These attitudes can be categorized as positive or negative. Positive attitudes are those that embrace failure as a mistake done, and a lesson learnt as a course of action aimed at rectifying the mistake. Negative attitudes occasioned by failure are characterized by an individual assuming the failure as an inadequacy on their part and that they lack the ability to change and influence their academic performance (Kirby, 2000). Attitudes that students take towards education is crucial, and a number of factors such as personality and belief influences it. Personality dictates whether the student will be able to be well integrated in an educational institution. The belief system of an individual is vital to the development of attitudes, which have an impact on how well a student embraces education. Development of belief systems, which indicate poor performance to an individual because they come from a poor background and lack social background, should be discouraged. Additionally, schools of thought leaning towards this mentality downcast to those that promote beliefs pushing for success in adversity. Emphasis should be put on the notion that difficult situations are not permanent, but with determination and hard work, all barriers to attaining a degree can be vanquished (Kirby, 2000). Having a purpose, being responsible and the desire to be successful are the first stages to achieve the desired goals, but at the same time a student needs to have organizational skills that enable a him or her to work hard and study while at the same time reach their full potential to achieve their goals. References Forest J. J. F. (2002).Higher Education in the United States: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2002. Kirby M. (2000). Sociology in Perspective: Sociology in Perspective for AQA Series. Illustrated Edition. Heinemann, 2000. Moon J. (2008). Achieving Success through Academic Assertiveness: Real life strategies for todays higher education students. Illustrated Edition. Routleg, 2008. Salmi J, Albach P. G. (2011). The Road to Academic Excellence: The Making of World-Class Research Universities. Illustrated Edition. World Bank Publications, 2011. Read More