Graduate Study Challenges and Strategies for Personal Success

We live in a dynamic time when staying focused and on top of things are the tools to excel and guarantee success in both professional and personal arenas. Pursuing a graduate study and improving communication skills are a few of many ways I chose to guarantee my personal and professional success. It wasn’t easy taking the decision to pursue a graduate study, and like all major decisions in one’s life, it comes with challenges, which were of an emotional, financial, and organizational nature in my case. To facilitate success, setting goals is most commonly seen as the way forward. In addition to discussing setting goals and milestones, I will be exposing the challenges met in the road to success and the related strategies to overcome them†¦show more content†¦Setting Goals â€Å"Goal setting implies a discontent with one’s present condition and desire to attain an object or outcome† (E.A Locke G.P. Latham, 2006). In other words, when one knows he wants something else from life, he builds a map of his journey. In a study conducted by Harvard Business School on what constitutes a failure or a success for a group of similar background and education, they found that only 3% are successful, and 30% are moderately successful, the remainder are watching the world go by. The difference between these two first groups is that the 3% one had specific goals, whereas the 30% group had a general idea of the direction they need to reach but didn’t formalize it. ‘Setting goals gives you long term vision and short-term motivation’ (Mind Tools, 2009). When setting goals, one will often hear that goals need to be (1) Specific, (2) Measurable, (3) Achievable, (4) Realistic and (5) Time bound. The SMART objective of goals ensures proper monitoring and outcome. Short-term goals are the smaller steps to reach the long-term goal and can be seen as the first level of to-do list. In light of the above, I have taken some time to set goals that will help me reach my desired outcome of ‘enhancing my career in the health care sector over the next five years’. Milestones to reach the long term goal are my short-term goals. ‘Pursue a master in Healthcare Management over the next two years’ and ‘write a white paper on health care sector financial systemShow MoreRelatedGraduate Study: Challenges and Strategies for Personal Success1341 Words   |  6 PagesRunning head: GRADUATE STUDY: CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES FOR PERSONAL SUCCESS Graduate Study: Challenges and Strategies for Personal Success fjazon HCS/504 October 24, 2011 Elwanda Whitaker Introduction Why go out of my comfort zone and take up graduate school, knowing the hardship and sacrifices that goes with it? This paper will attempt to answer this question by laying out the reasons and benefits of pursuing graduate studies. 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