The Principles Of Self-Discipline

Being a self-directed person means following autonomous methods of learning to be successful, following our own terms or preferred ways. One of these methods, which I believe to be of great importance, is taking initiative in wanting to do and learn something new, and continue to pursue the learning until the desired outcome has been obtained. To be an active learner means we must be comfortable to work on our own, be independent and take action for ourselves. One must also be intrinsically motivated because enjoying something makes it easier to keep wanting to practice it.

A strength that people gain when being a self-motivated individual is they learn to become self-disciplined. Once someone is able to be disciplined, they are able to follow their own proven methods to become successful in whatever they put their mindset to. Another area of strength is that the individual will start to want to change and learn. This will allow the individual to realize they must change certain habits that were not working and replace them with better methods acquired in the process.

An area of weakness that a self-motivated and engaged student might have is the lack of sources of knowledge. An individual might be self-confident and goal-oriented but sometimes they might not know how to find an answer from a reputable source and must ask for help to be guided in the right direction. Another area of weakness is that the person must learn to acquire knowledge from other sources and cope with the lack of human guided interactions. Most people have been conditioned to being part of a group in which having discussions helps them expand their knowledge and gives them different point of views, which might not be as often encountered in self-directed learning unless the individual finds this environment online or elsewhere.

The five main strategies I plan on implementing are to organize my time more efficiently, set an appropriate pace for learning, develop a plan to complete my work, find enjoyment in learning subjects that might not interest me as much, and learn to become more self-confident. I plan on organizing my time better by keeping up with a planner and setting specific times to study and do my homework. To set certain times for my studies also means scheduling them in a way to help me pace and retain my learning because I could overwork myself if I only set one particular day to do everything. Developing a plan to complete my work goes with being able to set up specific times for my school work. I will need to go over how many assignments I have, and allocate enough time to each one of them accordingly. This will help me complete them on time, and retain more of the coursework covered. I will also need to change my perspective on learning new things that I might not find interesting so I won’t deprive myself on learning new things that I would not typically pursue by myself. I will also need to start identifying and change the habits I find along the way that are preventing me from being more successful or productive during my learning journey. Lastly, I also plan on working on being more self-confident. If I keep on doubting myself, I believe I will never be satisfied with the things I do, but have the potential of doing.

I will evaluate myself on the success of my personal growth by making sure I follow the five strategies I have developed for myself. I plan on writing my strategies on my weekly planner and making sure I read them to myself before starting anything or when doubting myself. I will hold myself accountable by making sure I have follow each strategy and make continual progress on the goals I have set for myself. If I find myself falling behind on any of them, I plan on doing research to explore different strategies and find new things to implement that could potentially guide me in the desired path. Lastly, I will also be more considerate of my progress, and recognize my efforts when I know I did the best and when I know I am making a positive change on myself -because every little step in the right path is a step closer.