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Glenda Cordoba
Professor Collins
SLS 1101 02Z
25 April 2014
My Strategies to Succeed n Life
Life is a long !ourney t"at offers opportunities and obstacles to ac"ie#e our personal
success$ %pportunities are t"ose set of circu&stances t"at intend to get us closer to our desired
destination$ %n t"e ot"er "and' obstacles are t"ose barriers ("ose purpose is to stop us' or to ta)e
us off course fro& our desired destination$ *et' bot" of t"e& are needed to be successful$ +e
need t"e opportunities because t"ey &a)e our !ourney easier' ("ile t"e obstacles gi#e us t"e
c"ance to s"o( ("at (e are &ade of and "o( capable (e are to o#erco&e t"e&, obstacles allo(
us to re#eal our inner force$ +"at success &eans depends on ("o you as)$ So&e define success
as ac"ie#ing goals t"at &a)e ot"ers "appy, ot"ers define it as "a#ing t"e &oney to buy all t"e
lu-uries t"at &oney buys$ .o(e#er' define success as setting goals and ac"ie#ing t"e& no
&atter "o( difficult t"e process turns out to be$ /"roug" &astering t"e language of a creator'
c"anging &y inner con#ersations' designing a plan for all t"e roles play' continuing to e&ploy
&y self0&anage&ent syste&' and continuing to de#elop self0discipline' intend to continue &y
(ay to success$
1irst of all' it is i&portant t"at &aster t"e language of a creator$ t is i&perati#e to stop
&y inner critic fro& !udging &yself ("en s"e t"in)s a situation re2uires it' so "a#e to continue
focusing on t"e #oice of &y inner guide since t"at is t"e #oice t"at intends to "ig"lig"t t"e best
of t"ose situations$ 1or e-a&ple' ("en started t"is se&ester' (as afraid (as not going to be a
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successful student in &y Co&&unications 1 class$ )ept "earing &y inner critic say 3 "a#e
ne#er been a good (riter$ (ill not succeed in t"is class'4 and t"at #oice (as #anis"ing &y
desire to succeed$ 5#en t"oug" (as a(are of &y inner critic' could also "ear &y inner guide
re&ind &e t"at (as not as bad as t"oug"t, t"at only needed to belie#e &ore in &yself$ As
soon as started listening to t"e positi#e responses of &y inner guide' beca&e &ore a(are of
&y options to i&pro#e as a (riter and to face t"e c"allenges in t"e class$ Since )ne( could
not do it on &y o(n' soug"t for "elp$ decided to attend to t"e (riting lab' and (or) (it" a
(riting coac" ("o "elped &e by ans(ering &y 2uestions and gi#ing &e feedbac) about &y
(ritings$ 6ecause &y inner guide allo(ed &e to stop focusing on &y (ea)nesses and focus on
"o( to i&pro#e in an area found it #ery c"allenging. a& planning to continue &astering t"e
language of a creator$ need it for future se&esters since (ill be ta)ing classes t"at (ill be
c"allenging for &e, one of t"ose classes (ould be funda&entals of speec"$ do not consider t"at
class to be "ard' but t"e fact t"at "a#e to tal) in front of ot"ers &a)es t"is class a total c"allenge
since cannot tal) in front of ot"ers because a& afraid t"ey (ill not understand &y 5nglis"$
+"en (as in "ig" sc"ool' (as bullied because of &y accent$ And since t"en' a& still afraid
t"at ("en tal) people (ill not understand &e$ constantly "ear &y inner critic say 37o not tal)'
t"ey (ill not understand a (ord of ("at you are saying,4 and t"at &a)es &e feel (ill not
succeed in t"at course$ 1or t"at reason' plan to listen to &y inner guide ("o suggests to &e to
tal) to ot"ers &ore. /"at (ay (ill beco&e &ore co&fortable' and reali8e t"at &y accent is not
so strong and t"at can be understood ("en tal)$ &ust continue translating t"ose #icti&
state&ents into t"e language of a creator$ need to turn t"e !udg&ents into actions$ %nly t"at
(ay' (ill be able to &aster t"e language of a creator$
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Second' it is essential to continue c"anging &y inner con#ersations$ need to continue
disputing t"e irrational beliefs t"at e&erge ("en an e#ent in &y life goes (rong$ So&eti&es
(aste so&e of &y energy on &a)ing e-cuses' co&plaining' and bla&ing &yself or ot"ers$ 1or
e-a&ple' graduated in spring 2011 fro& "ig" sc"ool' but t"en decided to ta)e one se&ester
off$ planned to start college in spring 2012' but ("en tried to register' (as not able to
because needed to turn in so&e docu&ents$ After turned in t"e docu&ents' (as re2uested
&any ot"ers, as a result' ended up losing t"ree se&esters trying to &eet t"e re2uire&ents$ +"en
t"at situation occurred' (as too "ard on &yself$ bla&ed &yself a lot for not being able to start
college$ )ept telling &yself t"at could "a#e done &ore to a#oid losing t"ose t"ree se&esters'
but t"at so&e"o( c"ose not to$ (as so disappointed in &yself t"at felt li)e a loser$ could
not belie#e "ad (asted t"ree se&esters ("en al(ays )ne( t"e i&portance of education in life$
Also' got to a point ("ere started bla&ing t"e college staff for not being able to start college$
started t"in)ing t"ey (ere being racist for as)ing for docu&ent after docu&ent$ .o(e#er' in
spring 2019' reali8ed t"at needed to stop t"ose irrational beliefs$ /"ey (ere "indering &e
fro& ta)ing t"e proper actions$ )ne( "ad to silence or ignore t"ose #oices t"at (ere
constantly bla&ing and co&plaining' and focus on t"e #oice t"at (as constantly re&inding &e
t"at (as doing ("at could$ /"is (as t"e #oice t"at )ept telling &e t"at only "ad to ta)e fe(
additional actions to ac"ie#e &y goal$ started by re&inding &yself t"at e#ery docu&ent turned
in (as placing &e one step closer to &y goal' and t"at needed to focus on t"at rat"er t"an on
t"e ti&e already lost$ :e-t' started seeing &y situation as a lesson rat"er t"an as a proble&'
and as a (ay to &oti#ate &yself to do (ell ("ene#er started college$ /"en' started loo)ing for
options to face &y situation and to finally obtain t"e results (anted, one of t"e& (as to forgi#e
&yself$ "ad to re&ind &yself t"at (as already trying to ac"ie#e &y goal' and t"at needed to
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stop being so "ard on &yself for it$ needed to use t"at energy to continue &y effort to finally
get started (it" college$
n t"e sa&e (ay' plan to c"ange &y inner con#ersations ("en ta)e t"e science classes
need to earn &y AA 7egree$ Since a& not #ery good at science' need to dispute t"e irrational
beliefs t"at could "inder &e fro& succeeding in &y future science courses$ 1or so&e reason'
often feel science concepts are being e-plained to &e in anot"er language ("ic" leads &e to
t"in) science is not for &e' or t"at &ig"t not be s&art enoug" to understand its language$ As a
result' plan to dispute t"ose beliefs by re&inding &yself "o( good did in science classes
during "ig" sc"ool. t only re2uired &e to pay e-tra attention' and to as) 2uestions to &y
instructors ("ene#er a sub!ect (as unclear to &e$ Also' (ill need to loo) for solutions to
i&pro#e &y understanding of t"e sub!ects' suc" as being part of study groups or utili8ing t"e
(riting lab to as) science tutors for "elp ("en needed$ )no( it (ill not be easy to dispute t"ose
beliefs t"at could "inder &y c"ances to be t"e successful college student (ant to be' or t"e
successful p"ysical t"erapist aspire to be' but if c"ange &y inner con#ersations' (ill
succeed$
/"ird' need to continue designing plans for t"e roles play in life$ a& currently a
sister' a daug"ter' a god&ot"er' a (ife' and a student, as a result' need to continue setting goals
for t"ose roles$ /"e 7APPS ;7ated' Ac"ie#able' Personal' Positi#e' and Specific< rule "elped &e
create a plan &ade up of &any s"ort0ter& goals t"at (anted to ac"ie#e in &y role as a student
t"is se&ester$ S"ort0ter& goals suc" as (riting a researc" paper about t"e benefits of
co&pre"ensi#e i&&igration refor& by April 2=' ac"ie#ing As in all of &y classes' and earning a
GPA of 9$5 or better by t"e end of t"is se&ester' a&ong ot"ers$ n addition' created a long0ter&
goal ("ic" is to beco&e a p"ysical t"erapist$ 1or t"at reason' (ant to continue e&ploying t"is
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rule for ne-t college se&esters$ (ant to create a plan for fall 2014 in ("ic" organi8e t"e s"ort0
ter& goals for all &y classes by due date$ So&e of t"ose goals (ill be to fa&iliari8e &yself (it"
ot"er cultures different fro& &ine by 7ece&ber 12' and to de#elop a reliable study &et"od for
&y science classes by t"e end of t"e se&ester$ Creating plans for &y role as a student and &y
ot"er roles (ill &a)e &y life &ore organi8ed and it (ill also "elp &e to )no( ("at is ne-t in &y
goal>s list$
Additionally' need to continue e&ploying &y current self0&anage&ent syste&$
currently use a &ont"ly calendar and a ne-t action list to &anage &y sc"edule of co&&it&ents'
appoint&ents' and assign&ents$ used t"ese t(o tools to ac"ie#e one of t"e goals for t"is
se&ester$ At t"e beginning of t"is se&ester' (as assigned a researc" paper in &y
Co&&unication 1 class, as a result' set as a goal to (rite a researc" paper about t"e benefits of
co&pre"ensi#e i&&igration refor& by April 2=$ A fe( (ee)s after started' (ent off course$
(as (atc"ing /? or doing uni&portant tas)s instead of spending t"at ti&e on reading t"e
resources gat"ered$ +"en reali8ed (as off course' decided to create a &ont"ly calendar$
boug"t a big calendar' and started (riting ("at needed to be done on a specific day$ /"e
&ont"ly calendar (as co&posed of a ne-t action list in ("ic" detailed ("at needed to get
done eac" day$ 1or e-a&ple' one day "ad to read t"ree or four articles' and t"en "ad to ta)e
notes fro& t"ose articles if t"ey contained t"e type of infor&ation (as loo)ing for$ %nce
started utili8ing t"e &ont"ly calendar and t"e ne-t action list' (ent bac) on trac) ("ic"
allo(ed &e to ac"ie#e &y goal on ti&e$ After obtaining t"ose results' (ill continue using t"e
self0&anage&ent syste& t"at a& currently using because it "as (or)ed perfectly in organi8ing
&y ti&e as a student$ Later t"is year' (ill need to create anot"er &ont"ly calendar and a ne-t
action list for fall because (ill be &o#ing (it" &y "usband to @ansas' so (ill need to
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organi8e &y roles as a student and (ife$ (ant to be able to clean &y "ouse' coo)' do laundry'
and still be able to go to college and get all &y assign&ents done rig"t and on ti&e$ t (ould be
i&portant to organi8e &y ti&e in a (ay in ("ic" get all of &y tas)s done$ /"is is because
(ant to succeed in bot" roles$
1urt"er&ore' (ould need to continue de#eloping &y self0discipline if (ant to continue
ac"ie#ing &y goals$ need to stay co&&itted' focused and persistent because life (ill bring up
situations in ("ic" (ill be te&pted to procrastinate or go off course fro& &y goals$ need to
continue pro#ing to &yself t"at "a#e enoug" self0discipline to stay on course t"e sa&e (ay
"a#e done in t"e past$ /o illustrate' last year one of &y goals (as to sa#e up &oney to &a)e &y
goddaug"ter>s drea& co&e true$ S"e (anted to "a#e a birt"day party for t"e first ti&e in "er life'
so decided to t"ro( a party for "er. (anted to t"ro( t"e birt"day party s"e al(ays drea&ed of'
t"e one s"e described to &e &any ti&es$ n 2010' Ale!andra>s fat"er died ("en s"e (as 5 years
old, as a result' "er &ot"er "ad to &igrate to Pana&a because s"e lost "er !ob and s"e did not
"a#e any &oney to support "er t"ree )ids$ Since t"en Ale!andra li#es (it" "er grand&ot"er' t"ree
uncles' and t(o siblings in a #ery s&all "ouse$ /"ey all li#e on a tig"t budget t"at only co#ers
t"eir grocery and essential needs$ 6ecause of t"e conditions t"ey li#e in' Ale!andra ne#er "ad a
birt"day party before$ Many ti&es' Ale!andra told &e t"at s"e did not belie#e in drea&s' so
decided to c"ange t"at and &a)e "er belie#e t"at drea&s do co&e true$ t too) &e eig"t &ont"s
to sa#e up all t"e &oney needed to afford t"e party of "er drea&s$ .o(e#er' in August "ad to
send &a!ority of t"e &oney to &y fat"er ("o also li#es in :icaragua ("en "e "ad an accident'
and a surgery (as needed$ +"en sent t"e &oney' (as so sad because t"ro(ing "er t"e
birt"day party of "er drea&s (as one of &y drea&s too$ After sending t"e &oney' (as at t"e
beginning again (it" t"e only difference t"at t"is ti&e only "ad four &ont"s to sa#e up all t"e
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&oney again$ )ne( needed to stay co&&itted if (anted to &a)e "er drea& co&e true$ At
first' did not )no( ("at to do' but t"en (eig"ed &y options' and finally c"ose t"e best one
in t"at &o&ent$ as)ed &y boss for an e-tra day of (or)' and for &ore "ours during t"e days
(as already (or)ing$ ended up (or)ing al&ost si-ty "ours a (ee)$ 6esides (or)ing, "ad to
attend classes at nig"t ("ic" &eant "ad to stay up to (or) on &y "o&e(or)$ After a fe(
(ee)s' "ad no ti&e for anyt"ing else ot"er t"an to (or) or to do "o&e(or)$ (as going to bed
around one oAcloc) e#ery nig"t studying' and (as (a)ing up at si- in t"e &orning to go to
(or)$ (as barely sleeping$ (as p"ysically and e&otionally e-"austed' but (as focused and
did not let t"at distract &e fro& &a)ing Ale!andraAs drea& co&e true$ As &ont"s (ent by' (as
e-"austed fro& t"e life (as leading' but (as persistent and )ne( t"ose sacrifices (ere going
to be (ort" it in t"e end$ continued (it" &y self0discipline until sa#ed up all t"e &oney for
t"e party$ My goal to &a)e Ale!andra>s drea& co&e true (as #ery de&anding' and it re2uired &e
to fully dedicate &yself to it' but ac"ie#ed it$ /"e self0discipline de#eloped "elped &e pro#e
to &yself t"at a& capable of ac"ie#ing anyt"ing in life as long as "a#e t"e self0discipline to
stay on course$ n t"e sa&e (ay' plan to continue being self0disciplined as a student$ )no(
classes (ill get "arder and (ill co&e to a point in ("ic" (ill (ant to gi#e up or 2uit' but
)no( (it" t"e self0discipline "a#e ac2uired during t"e past &ont"s' (ill be able to succeed in
t"e&$ only "a#e to stay focused on &y goals to pass and learn in t"ose classes, (ill co&&it
&yself to doing it' and persist until pass t"e&$
/o su& up' t"e !ourney of life continues trying to build barriers t"at intend to stop &e
fro& succeeding in life' but "a#e adapted fi#e good strategies t"at (ill "elp &e destroy t"ose
barriers$ As long as do&inate t"e language of a creator' c"ange &y inner con#ersations'
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organi8e t"e roles play in life' continue using a self0&anage&ent syste&' and continue being
self0disciplined' (ill continue being t"e successful person t"at a&$