Setting Goals By Azeem Kayum At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

I believe in setting realistic goals and working toward achieving them. Reaching those goals means hard work, perseverance, commitment, discipline and the desire to be the best you can possibly be.

For someone with learning challenges it is a hundred times harder and it takes longer to achieve goals. I succeeded and if I can do so with my limited abilities, I truly believe any one can. From an IQ that was too low to be scored to a college graduate, my success was not easy. It meant I first had to believe in myself and set goals. I surrounded myself with positive people – people who encouraged me, who made a big deal with every pass mark I made. That positive reinforcement carried me a long way.

My goals were simple and short term. Initially, my focus was to complete elementary school. I worked extremely hard and in most subjects I barely scraped a pass mark. But, that mark motivated me to work harder on the next test or assignment. I must admit that with the long hours I spent studying, I should have aced all my tests but with a damaged brain, it was not possible.

There were times when I became frustrated and wanted to give up but my parents never allowed me to feel sorry for myself. Instead they focused on my abilities and what I accomplished. I recall one math problem I had great difficulty with and became so tired of trying and blurted out, “I can’t do this. It’s too hard. My mom was helping me using the white board to show me every step of the problem. She turned to me and said,” Look at this.” She wrote the words “I CAN’T” in bold letters on the board. As she was writing she told me that those words should not exist in my vocabulary. She then picked up the eraser and knocked the apostrophe and “t” off. She asked me to read what was left on the board. She made me repeat those words everyday for several months and I began believing that I was capable of doing anything I set my mind to do. With that support and direction, I immersed myself in my work and continued my uphill struggle. Each level of my education demanded more work and discipline. With a desire to do well, I worked hard and exceed my own expectations by graduating with honors from college.

Perseverance leads to success. It means taking small steps along the way. Those small steps took me one step closer to fulfilling my goals. It means working hard and staying committed to getting the job done. Working hard may not always be the answer. Sometimes it means working super hard. When frustration stepped in I went back to what I wanted to do with my life. I kept reminding myself that I have control of what I do and success is important to me. Goals can be reached. Dreams can be fulfilled. Have that drive to succeed. With the right attitude, you too, can.

(Originally published at GoArticles and reprinted with permission from the author, Azeem Kayum).

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=329750&ca=Self+Help

Important Notice DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.