Adult Education: How to Persevere when You Feel like Quitting

Whatever your goals may be, along the journey, you may get that sneaking urge to quit. Adult education is definitely no exception to the rule. How you weed the “garden of your brain” may be the difference. If you have the result in mind, stopping self-doubt can become manageable.

There is a certain stigma to going back to school after a certain age. Adult continuing education is often looked at like getting a GED in high school. If you’re forty years old and attending a college with a bunch of young whippersnappers, it can become easy to start listening to the Charlie Brown- like voice in your head. “You can’t do this, you can’t do that, why even bother? Just Quit!”

It is said: We can talk ourselves into, or out of; just about anything.

  • Remaining and persevering at Adult continuing education comes down to the 7 inches between your ears; your brain.
  • Stay positive, don’t focus on what you have done wrong in your past or if you have a bad test score or a bad grade on an essay.
  • This is a marathon, not a sprint.
  • The gratifying satisfaction of completing this task that has haunted you for years will outweigh any comfortability that you have in the present.
  • Stay focused on the prize, that college diploma.
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Write down your short term and long term goals.

It’s been proven that when someone writes down long and short term goals they have an increased chance of succeeding. Think it, Ink it, and consider it done. Having goals actually written down on actual paper gives you a reminder. Forget your computer, or your phone for a second. Manifest those goals on a physical paper and look at it every single day as you continue towards your achievement. You will be pleased with your results.

If you feel like quitting, get back to your written goals.

Remember, You are your word. If you make a pact with yourself and put it on paper as discussed, when that creeping feeling of self-doubt and the urge to quit arises you have that physical contract you made with yourself to back it up. Failure has become a non-option. If you made the pact in your head or on a destructible Ipad tablet or a computer, it simply won’t be as effective to stop the quitting bug.

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Make sure you make good on your promise to yourself to continue adult education.

Your future self will thank you in the end, and the only real person you can trust is yourself. Please don’t lie to yourself, the light at the end of the tunnel may be you.