Being told that students can do anything that they set their mind to is one of the most empowering pieces of advice advice anyone can give them — except that not everything that they want to do can be done at the same time.
At the LEADStrong event held in Iadarola called “Why Do You Mean I Can’t Do Everything?”, the common theme was that students often do not prioritize their schedules.
“I thought this event was really helpful,” Jena Marineli, educational studies major, said. “I do have my priorities. I just need to learn how to manage them and coming to this event really helped me realize this.”
Students rarely complete activities that reflect their values. For example, students often place their family, friends and religious practices at the top of the list, but often put those on the back burn- er to focus on other tasks, instead.
At this event, the idea of a “personal day” was highlighted and emphasized quite frequently. Students in this day and age need a day where they take a mental break to go out and do something for themselves. Whether it be a spa day, a relaxation day or going somewhere fun with friends, a day of relaxation after a busy week is much needed.
An exercise that was practiced during this event was finding a time when one was in their best state, such as winning an award in high school, being a captain on a sports team or even overcoming an awkward stage and not judging others going through it, too.
The purpose of this was to see if an individual’s values matched up with their best state, and if one was not feeling at their greatest to remind themselves of what they are capable of.
Alicia Maynard, human resources and accounting double major, said, “Putting together what makes me happy and being able to determine when I am in my best state really helped me to be my best all the time.”
The final exercise of this work- shop was a clock activity which was a metaphor to remind one of the different values that they have. Every person had to fill the times on the clock with a value that important to them to show what things one should focus on more.
Amber Lajeunesse, assistant director of the SEAL office, said, “This was meant to help someone prioritize and match their time with their values.”
A recurring theme was that one should find time for things they want to do every once in awhile, not always focusing on things that need to be done. Being busy might be inevitable, but it is always important to be in control of one’s life.
