New Beginnings

By Rachel Rowland ( ABC School’s Academic Coordinator ) Autumn is almost upon us and when I think of this season, thoughts of new beginnings come to my mind. This is mainly due to the fact that the new academic year within schools and colleges starts in September and it is widely considered to be a good time to make a fresh start in your life. In this article, I’m going to share with you some useful tips for starting the academic year in a positive way. Reflection Interestingly, the first step to moving forward is to reflect on the year that has just passed. You should ask yourself what worked well for you last year and which areas of your life didn’t work out so well. Perhaps you have realised that you need to work harder on improving your listening skills or that you need to improve your English pronunciation. Consider whether you have discovered anything new about yourself. Perhaps you realise that you prefer to read rather than listen to English texts. Reflection can be used as a development tool. Intuitively, we know that we learn from our experiences and from our mistakes. Research has shown that without the process of actively thinking about our experiences, and thinking about what they mean, learning doesn’t really take place. Reflection will provide important clues and insights into what needs changing, what you need to now focus on and how you can transform your life in a positive way.

Write down your goals September is the perfect time to create a vision for your future and it is widely believed that writing down your goals helps you to achieve them. An interesting study about goal setting, was carried out in the MBA programme at Harvard University. Graduates were asked if they had made clear set goals for their futures and if they had made specific plans in order to achieve these goals. The results of the survey showed that only 3% of students had written down their goals and had plans to achieve them, 13% had thought about their plans and an astonishing 84% had no goals at all. After 10 years, the same students were interviewed again and the results were astounding. The 3% who had written their goals down were earning around 10 times as much as the other 97% of the class combined. Do you feel inspired now? You should note down on paper, what you would love your life to be like, using the present tense because our brains respond better and immediately to messages in the present. Be as imaginative as you like. For example, you could say I am working for an international company and I am now a fluent English speaker. Writing down your goals is one of the most important actions you can take. Focus on the details It is difficult to accomplish your desires if you are not completely sure about what you really want to achieve. In order to manifest your goals, you need to be clear about what you want. Consider how you will feel once you have achieved your goal, visualise the scene and focus on every detail. Many experts in goal setting believe that when you are writing out the reality of exactly what you desire, you should tap into the feeling associated with achieving those goals and notice how good it feels. For example, if your desire is to speak English fluently, imagine how you will feel when speaking to someone, perhaps a colleague at work, using perfect English. Relish in that feeling and make a conscious effort to tap into it every day. September is the perfect time to plan your year ahead and to focus on specific goals for the coming year. If you have the right mind-set and use the tips outlined in this article, you may just achieve all that you desire.