Random food for thought: Small steps towards big goals.
I don’t think of myself as someone who attempts to be a jack of all trades, but I know I wouldn’t succeed in being the master of one. I value experiences that allow me to make my personality unique and diverse to prepare me for any tough situation thrown my way. I guess in some sense it’s nice to be the proactive jack of all trades.
During my time here, I didn’t go out of my way to join student organizations that would “look good.” Sure, my relatively decent grades and few intently-pursued leadership roles got me pretty far in my career, but it wasn’t everything.
This week, we will think about those achievements in a holistic sense. Before you lay out the goals you want to accomplish, always ask yourself: what supports my accomplishments?
Who?
Who do we want to know just how far we have come? For me, it is my close family. They have made many sacrifices throughout their lives that aided my abilities to attend college, get a competitive degree that allows me to further myself in my career, and develop a personality that cultivates long-lasting relationships.
Think about who benefits from your accomplishment — it can be as simple as you benefiting from a degree that gets you the desired job. Maybe your mentor is someone you aspire to be one day in your desired career field. Maybe it is your favorite singer that always knows the right things to say to their fans. Embody their aura, but at the same time, give your own unique spin to it with your achievement.
What?
Remember to state benefits that accomplishing a feat will provide to yourself and those around you. Waking up early allows me to exercise and maintain my health, but ensuring I get those 8 hours of sleep reinforces my desire to be disciplined in mind, work, and body.
When you list the external and internal benefits that your accomplishment will reap, it helps make it easier to narrow down the milestones that keep you on track. To make sure I go to bed by 11 p.m. at the latest, I make use of my phone’s do not disturb feature. The feature allows me to limit unnecessary social screen time which for the most part does not add any value to my personal, mental, and professional development.
Where?
When I first came to Stevens, I decided I was going to be involved in a couple of organizations on campus. After all, I am paying quite a lot of money to attend a university and essentially paying to meet and interact with all these other students who are just as diverse, and just as similar, as me.
If you are a freshman in college reading this, you might think I am encouraging you to join lots of clubs at Stevens. Maybe opt for an e-board position — leadership looks perfect on a resume after all!
No.
Stay focused. Remember, where do you want to see yourself?
When?
The next most important question to ask ourselves is “where will I be when I am three weeks in the semester, three months on the job, or even three years later?” Will I need to accomplish my goals by a certain time or is it something I am just self-imposing to make my life more difficult? Knowing the impact of your accomplishments and prioritizing them is extremely important to your mental and physical health.
Some of the best accomplishments are those that know no boundary or know no end.
Why?
Finally, the biggest question of all. Why do we do what we do? Our accomplishments make us feel alive, but there is no point in living a life to please or disappoint others. Sometimes we’ll feel like we need to cross something off our to-do list without even understanding that it never was ours to start with!
You are on your own timeline, but I hope as we continue another semester of distance learning that we continue to set goals and continue taking those small steps towards big dreams!
Quarantine Times is an Opinion column written and created by Roshni Revankar ‘22 to discuss tips on dealing with life in quarantine, such as productivity and mental health.
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