College Review Course

I love being on a college campus!  Everyone is so eager to learn and happy to be there.  There’s an energy that permeates just about every building and walkway.  It’s fun to sit and watch the students coming and going, stopping to study or cram for a test, engaged in conversations for a group project.  Fortunately, I have the opportunity to spend time on a college campus a couple times each year, interacting with the students and professors.

I wish that this type of interest/excitement/whatever-you-want-to-call-it would continue throughout our careers.  After we’ve been working awhile something happens to us work veterans; we tend to get bogged down in the details of work life, becoming frustrated and sometimes disillusioned to the point of wanting to throw in the towel and open a pig farm to get away from it all.  Pigs? I’m just brainstorming here. Think about it: how hard could it be to have pigs?  Just feed them and shelter them; after all they seem to be happier dirty so no need to bathe them.  There is the natural odor that comes with a pig, and I guess they are not litter-box trained so that could be an issue too.   But you get my point.  We all have moments where we lack that just-out-of-college enthusiasm.

Here are some things we all need to remember from college:

–          Enjoy learning. Just because we’ve left campus doesn’t mean we should stop learning. It’s good for our brains and brings a sense of accomplishment when we’re through.  Not to mention it’s great for the resume.

–          Throw yourself into your projects/work.  I remember being so intent on doing well for my classes that I developed almost laser-like focus to achieve a good grade.  We should do the same at work; think of how much we would accomplish.  Maybe we’ll even get a raise, if not a gold star on our Power Point presentation.  At least we can go home knowing we did our best.

–          Focus on what’s important. In school, we all had dreams and aspirations that helped us focus on the prize – an A in a class, receiving a diploma and getting a job.  While we won’t get a diploma from work, by setting work-related goals we can focus on what’s truly important for us at our jobs.

–          Make new friends (network).  This was easy at school since we met other students all the time.  It’s a bit more difficult out in the work force but equally as important. Whether it’s networking, making new friends or even keeping up with old friends, make time to reach out and touch someone.

–          Look toward the future with optimism.  With our careers wide open and out in front of us, in school we were excited to jump into the future.  Again, sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the here and now that we forget that each day is building on our future.  Try to maintain some of that fresh-out-of-school optimism – it’s amazing how good you’ll feel at work.

I need to continue to go back to college periodically to feel alive again, energized to learn and optimistic about the future – my future. Without pigs.