Over a two year period (2018 – 2020), one of my students taught me a great lesson. Through her actions she demonstrated what true persistence looks like. She would consistently fail my quizzes and tests. Having failed, naturally she was discouraged and complaining of her failure was a part of her routine. However the thing that would surprise me is that she would wipe her tears and take on the next test as if the previous failure never occurred. She would fail again, and the cycle would repeat and she would try her best to better her results on the next opportunity. But here is the thing, though I could count on one hand the number of times she passed my assessments, she ended up passing the external exam that covered the material that was covered over the two years. Her persistence created a ‘tipping point’ that lead to her eventual success.
When it comes to our school work, many of us believe that there are those who are good at school and then there are those who suck at it. In many academic institutions this seems to be the case. But what if those who supposedly sucked at school never embraced that identity and did everything in their power to improve their performance – what if they persisted?
Who said that success will be granted on your first, second or even third try? When a baby fails at its first, second or third attempt at walking, no one complains. But somehow we have formed the belief that success isn’t success unless it is flawless. The truth is the road to success if different for every individual. Those who seem to always excel are in that position because they have been using systems of preparation for years that work for them. For someone who ‘sucks’ at school, more than likely they are unaware of what is required to achieve academic success. The world of excellence in academics is totally new to them and it is important for them to know that when they do get serious about their school work, there will be bumps along the way. It is important that these individuals remain persistent if academic success is what they crave.
Here are three reasons why persistence in the pursuit of academic success is crucial.
- You learn from your mistakes
It’s only through experience that you will begin to learn what works and what doesn’t. By being persistent, every time that you fail you can reflect on your actions and determine what activities contributed to your failure. Not only this, but you will get feedback on what areas of the content you don’t understand and can now seek out help to ensure that you gain an understanding of those content areas.
2. You give yourself a chance.
Not everything in life requires persistence. There are some situations in which giving up is the best thing to do. However, in terms of your academics…giving up should be your very last resort. When you give up on your academic success, there and then you permanently kill any possibility of success. As the saying goes, if you don’t have a ticket, you don’t have a chance. Well if you if you don’t work at your academics, you won’t have a chance to see success. The best thing you can do for yourself is to give it your all and see where that gets you. If you fail to do that then you will never know what could have been possible for you.
3. You will live without regrets.
I have lived long enough to hear people say if they knew then what they know now, they would have paid more attention to their school work. There are many adults, who after gaining some maturity, made the decision to pursue their education. They realize that if they had given their all when they were actually at elementary and high school, they would be much further ahead. As a student who is currently in high school, you have the opportunity to get it right NOW! Take it from an older head who knows what the agony of regret looks like.
Put in the work, be persistent and give yourself the fighting chance you deserve.
Unleashing your true academic potential 