Upon receiving an unidentified phone call, the immediate question that arises is “Who are you?” The responsible answer to that question is to identify a valid reason to justify staying on the line. When the caller sounds like a scammer, the likely response is to immediately hang up. Why then when another scammer, the negative internal dialogue call in people’s minds, the meeting is entertained or excused as powerless to do anything about it? People who know who they’re hanging!

Many students’ negative internal dialogue calls they are paralyzing when comparisons are made with others, derogatory comments fret, and perfectionism dominates thinking. Being fooled into a powerless mindset or being fooled into accepting distorted ideas about capabilities need not be the case. Being smart about higher education and life are related. The students are far more capable than they think and are able to face and overcome the tough personal battles necessary to become the person they were meant to be.

Trying to understand who you are takes more than a page in this article, but there are three basic ways to start the process:

time tracking

At one point, listening to a personal development expert, I was challenged to meticulously measure the time I spent each day in about eight categories. Keep in mind that the normal tendency is to grossly underestimate or have no clear recollection of time spent during the day. So true!

Measuring in detail, I found that 18 hours of my week was spent watching television. That’s more than a day, not counting sleep, per week, 52 days per year, and more than a year and a half per decade! A blatant failure to be smart that needed to be addressed. Higher education requires wisdom, be careful not only with television, but with everyone screen time that is useless and erodes academic performance and rich experiences.

Talents used

“Yes, but I don’t know what my talents are!” Having this dilemma is common, but it is never solved by ignoring the problem. A great college basketball coach, Adolph Rupp, said, “Whenever you see a man on top of a mountain, you can be sure he didn’t fall down there.”

Get help discovering talent by getting feedback from family and friends. Take the feedback and determine the items that carry over to job skills. Avid readers should consider being a writer for the school newspaper. Take photos for the yearbook. Churches are always looking for musicians and singers. The joy of coaching young children can develop foundational skills that lead to executive mentorship.

Skill is not a big deal when volunteering. Provide a fair trial period while you get feedback from others involved in this activity to gauge the value of staying or trying something else. The upside to all this volunteering is that knowing who you are in terms of your personal talents makes it easier to choose a higher education career.

disbursed treasury

Good detectives know how to follow the trail of money spent to determine the motive, location, and habits of criminals that eventually lead to an arrest. follow the money it is a rule to know who you are. College students who take on debt expect investment in higher education to earn a great return on investment. There are several alternatives that can help reduce or eliminate debt.

Being smart about it takes discipline and a lot of hard work, especially if the parents can only help a little or not at all. Debunk myths like going to an Ivy League school is the only way to get a great job. It just isn’t true!

Character development and discovering who you are is a lifelong process. There is a wealth of information and resources to help you discover who you are. The bottom line is that life always involves time, talent, and treasure. Keep it simple, actions speak louder than words, academic journals, psychoanalysts, or Dr. Phil.