Saturday, April 4, 2009

forum talk titled You Deserve a Great Education

Last night I listened to a talk from the SLC TJEd Forum from Jennifer Jensen titled You Deserve A Great Education. She talked about how to go after an education even when it may seem daunting with a family to take care of also.
Her first suggestion was to schedule study for the week rather than for each day. There may be days that are crazy, and you can not get much done. Then there will be days that time is more available for study.
Her second suggestion was to be flexible. With a family it will be rare that any day will be the same. If you expect to have a certain amount of study time on certain days with a certain goal in mind, chances are it will not work out. Families do not run like a machine. There needs to be flexibility. Do what you can when you can.
The third suggestion is to be faithful. Do what you can and remember the things that you do get done. If you keep trying you will succeed. It helps to write a couple of pages on each book you read so that you can see the progress. You can look back in your notebook and remember that you have read a good amount of books, and have gotten somewhere.
She said that if you can not take a class to keep you motivated in your education, then find a mentor who can keep you going and making goals, and get you discussing the things you have read.
There is a cycle of life that she explained. The cycle had 6 points on it, the first being excitement. This point on the cycle is where you are anxious to learn, and are sure you have what it takes to do well. The second place on the cycle is reality. You realize that the work involved is hard, and that it takes lots of time and effort. The third is questioning your decision. Can I really do this? What made me think I could study more than 10 minutes a day? The fourth point is dissatisfaction. This is where many people give up. They feel they just can't keep up with the heavy work load any more. The fifth point is making small goals. You do the least required, and go at a slower pace to make it doable. The sixth point is production. The small goals you were making before are easier, and you are able to do more, so you pick up the pace and do well.
I will watch for this cycle as I strive to become educated. Knowing that there is a cycle will make me feel better if I get to that point of wanting to give up. I am at the beginning of the cycle. I am excited to be learning. We will see how it goes.

3 comments:

  1. This is perfect for me right now because I am in the dissatisfied part of life in general...Everything!! It is good to know the cycle and then just jump to the small goal part of it and avoid as much frustration as possible.

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  2. Elisa, that cycle is interesting because, I totally see it in all the ideas I get excited about. lol
    Right now I have two major things that I have become excited about, and both of them I have hit the reality part. My photography, the reality was hit last week, but I got through it and I am now on the small goals part. My helping others get budget binders, the reality has just hit, but I know its something I can do by carefully planning and making sure I have all the details, and I know I will be making the small goals part next. lol
    It is very helpfull to know that process now, and I have realized while reading your post how real it is!

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  3. Me too. I have all of these great ideas, and after reading this it really helped me understand why things sometimes don't work. This actually helped me to become more excited about what I am doing. I can see what is going to happen and can be prepared for it. As always, you are an inspiration. I love you.

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