3 Aspects Of The Mind That Will Get You Through College
College is a unique combination of new responsibilities and opportunities that can easily overwhelm an unprepared student. From a full course load to a part-time job or two to simply getting enough sleep, it seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day to take care of it all. Throw in maintaining our own spiritual life, personal development and developing healthy, lasting relationships, and it seems you have a recipe for emotional, mental and physical overload!
There’s Hope! (Of Course There Is!)
The Divine Principle teaches that our minds consist of three general aspects: emotion, intellect and will. When trying to tend to all our goals and responsibilities, proper care and use of each aspect will allow us to use our minds to their fullest capacity.
Emotion: The Motivator
Of the three, emotion is meant to be the primary force. In aiming to accomplish any goal, we can be most effective when our emotions are engaged and we love what we do. Unfortunately, as we move through college and stress mounts, it can be easy to lose touch with the love and excitement we had for what we do and where we’re going. The unforgiving cycle of assignments, deadlines, and tests can quickly distract from our greater purpose.
So, slow down! Rushing to complete our laundry list of tasks often leads to pressure, mistakes, and extra emotional strain. Take a few minutes at the start of each day to pray or meditate. Remember why you’re here. Spending time to ground and focus yourself can reconnect you to your greater purpose and improve your motivation and focus when sitting down to work. Find other healthy ways to relieve emotional stress that work best for you.
Intellect: The Planner
Our intellect complements our emotions and brings clarity, logic and organization to our lives. College is designed to refine our minds, but when we find ourselves with seemingly too much on our plate, it may be that our intellect isn’t carrying its weight. Managing both a demanding workload and our various personal goals requires strong planning.
Plan ahead! Be it for the next day, week, year, five years, or twenty years, planning is absolutely essential in college and life afterwards. Take the time to organize your tasks into a clear schedule that makes allowances for inefficiencies and mistakes. Know yourself and try to avoid making unrealistic, best-case-scenario schedules when planning in the short term. These plans should be followed to the best of your ability.
However, try the exact opposite when looking at the broader picture of the next several years or even decades. Imagine having achieved the best case scenario for your life in the next five to twenty years, then recreate how it was that you got there. Doing this will clarify what you should be doing in the next few months and connect the daily grind of the here-and-now to your overall purpose.
Will: The Taskmaster
At this point, our emotions and intellect are running at full speed. We have our motivation back, a few new healthy ways to destress, and a clear plan of what we need to do. What naturally follows now is simply getting out there and doing it! Willpower naturally comes when we are genuinely invested in something emotionally and intellectually.
Practice and persist! Having the discipline to follow your organized schedule can be one of the hardest habits to form.There are numerous tips and mental tricks available to build discipline and the habits you want, but in the end it is your motivation, planning and sheer determination that will win the day. Being flexible and able to try different approaches on the fly is essential to finding what unique mindset and approach works best for you.
The immediacy of assignments, tests and work makes tending to our mind’s landscape seem optional in comparison. In a way, it is. There isn’t anyone forcing us to take care of our spirituality, get out of bed on time, or follow what we think our dreams are. The beauty of these college years is that we learn how to do these things for ourselves as we continue to grow into wholesome and capable people.