Personal responsibility requires one to accept that every action, thought, decision, victory, and defeat in life ultimately is reliant upon and impacts them directly. When an individual accepts personal responsibility to be a college student, they are making a commitment to themself and taking ownership of their goals and ambitions. Personal responsibility and college success are closely related because as a student, the individual ultimately controls their college success.Developing a preliminary plan for college success and applying personal responsibility in one’s education is an important step in the process of completing this college educational journey.
Definition of Personal Responsibility and What It Means To Me Recognizing how my choices have an effect on me individually and others, who depend on my support, is an intricate factor of what personal responsibility means to me. My understanding and perception of personal responsibility involves being accountable for my actions and being responsible for everything I do and say at all times.According to Haskins (2009), “when applied to education, personal responsibility means that students accept the responsibility to study hard and to learn as much as they can in courses that press against the limits of their capacity. ” Having spent 20 years in the United States Air Force, I have learned that being personally responsible not only has an impact on my life, but also others’ lives as well.
This also involves the ability of a person to respond to the various challenges and circumstances of life while acting in a mature manner.If required to work as a team to complete an assignment, I will ensure that I will not be the reason it fails or is subpar; I will do everything in my power to make it successful and will assist my teammates when needed. By being accountable for my actions, I must make decisions both ethically and morally responsible. My decisions must be based on honesty, integrity, and my personal values.
I am faced daily with circumstances that test me, and daily I have to make decisions regarding whether to do the right thing or the “popular” thing.Understanding the various consequences for my actions prepares me for accepting responsibility in everything I do. Relationship between Personal Responsibility, Motivation, and College Success There is a relationship between personal responsibility, motivation, and college success, and that link is you. Having college success truly depends on the individual.
Each individual has or will receive a course syllabus that outlines the required assignments, will decide whether or not to complete the coursework, and how one will invest the time, energy, and resources to be personally responsible for college success.If one does just enough to get by and is not very motivated, college success will most likely mirror their efforts. A study of University Students’ Motivation and Its Relationship with Their Academic Performance, “student motivation is the element that leads students’ attitudes towards the learning process” (Afzal, Ali, Khan, & Hamid, 2010, P. 81). Motivation is intrinsic to one’s personal responsibility, and is defined as the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.
When one has personal responsibility, they have the freedom to make choices, which affect their goals.With this in mind, one can conclude that the choices he or she makes will negatively or positively affect his or her success in college. So, having that motivation to succeed is the most important reason an individual has to be personally responsible and has college success. My Preliminary Plan to Practice Personal Responsibility in My Education The preliminary plan for personal responsibility in my education is to be prepared and use all of my resources. This preparation includes talking with my family about ways they can help me balance household, work, and school obligations.The importance of time management cannot be understated; I will need to schedule chunks of time to devote to schoolwork in a place where I will not be interrupted.
Macan, Shahani, Dipboye, and Phillips (1990) state that “time-management consists of three factors: (1) the setting of goals and priorities, (2) the mechanics of time management (e. g. , making lists, scheduling), and (3) a preference for organization. ” Additionally, the utilization of an electronic calendar is a major tool to assist me and keep me on schedule.I can very much plan out the day on my blackberry, or in outlook, and set schedules, set reminders, add due dates for assignments to make sure I meet those due dates.
Personal responsibility goes hand-in-hand with this because I basically have my personal, professional, and school calendar all in one place. Many articles have been written in business journals about the success of having an electronic calendar. I believe knowing these things in the preliminary plan stages of my education help to ensure accountability and success in all areas and aspects of my life- to include education.Another important responsibility that aids in my preliminary plan and preparation toward education is physical and mental health. Eating healthy, exercising, getting plenty of sleep, spiritual time, and taking time to relax all need to be planned out.
This is part of time management, and the effectiveness of preliminary planning and practicing personal responsibility and applying principles to ones education.Conclusion In conclusion, one should take personal responsibility for college success, just as one would in his or her personal lives. This includes knowing who one is as a person and as a student, defining personal relationship and knowing what it means to them, and understanding ones relationship with personal responsibility and how this impacts the college success. One also needs to have a preliminary plan and practice personal responsibility in their college education.
It is very important in this college journey that one employs all of ones learning tools, especially time management, motivation, family, life, health, mental preparedness, and school resources.
