Thing #1

When going through the presentation for Seven and 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners, the phrase "I will..., I can..., I do..." caught my eye.  In order to do anything in life you have to have that attitude.  You have to commit to doing something, believe that you can do it, and then just go on and do it. 

 I believe that out of the seven habits, number three: "View Problems as Challenges", is the hardest for me.  No matter how motivated I am to complete something, if I hit a wall and run into problems that are not solved rather quickly, I tend to think about the idea of quitting.  If I stick it out and complete whatever it is I am doing, I am always glad in the end but it's getting to that point that can be a problem.  I am someone who likes to map out a plan beforehand and I try to stick to that plan as meticulously as possible.  If things do not go how I imagined they would, I tend to get frusterated and that's when I can run into trouble.  I have to learn to just stick it out and push through to the end. 

The habit that comes easiest for me is number two: "Accept Responsibility for Your Own Learning".  No one can do my work for me and no one can force me to do the work.  If I want to succeed I have to be the one to do it.  Accepting responsibility for that comes easily to me because I know that whether I succeed or fail, that falls on me and no one else.  It is my job to do it and even though I may not feel like it at the time, or maybe it is not what I would consider "fun", I have to buckle down and do the work.  The rewards of completing what I have started will far outweigh everything else.