This site is for mature students, whether in Postgraduate study, an Undergraduate, or soon to start at University; providing motivation, encouragement, personal development, tips to enable you to overcome challenges and most of all, how to be even more successful.
Yours in positivity
Carole
“Passionate About People Succeeding”
With “The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) confirming today that tuition fees at English universities will average £8.393 in 2012″ [source: www.relocatemagazine.com] there may be many of you who might have started to re-think your plans to get a degree.
Before you talk yourself out of your goal let me just make you aware, or remind you of the following please:
Please do just keep marching on to the achievement of your goal.
Yours in Positivity
Carole
“Passionate About People Succeeding”
Hindsight is a wonderful thing when it can be used to benefit others. Actually my whole purpose behind creating this site and my desire to help mature students has come from a moment of hindsight.
When you first became a Mature Student you quite likely experienced a steep learning curve and may have faced issues such as:
These are all very valid concerns considering that it may have been several years since you were last a student. Even though you may just have finished and Access Course or have gained ‘A’ levels you could still experience a major ‘leap’ when progressing to your degree course. I remember likening this ‘leap’ to the difference between moving from Primary to Secondary School.
Most Mature students learn to ‘get along’ by getting support from study skills departments and support services, together with encouragement from family and good friends. Even so, for many there is often the number one thing that ‘plagues’ them throughout their course.
This is such a great shame because it is totally un-necessary and can make all the difference between you having a good or great experience of university or, you gaining a good or excellent class of degree.
Would it surprise you to know that the number one problem Mature Students face is none of the above but is:
Constant self-doubt
I can remember as a Mature student myself that I would often say that we were “only as good as our next essay or assignment.” I know that what I am about to say now is a cliché, but “If only I knew then what I know now” I would have been telling myself far more encouraging and self-motivating things than that!
It was some years after I graduated that I learned the importance of controlling the thoughts that we permit to stay in our minds
[please note that I did not say ‘the thoughts that we allow to enter our minds']
and the ability we have to programme this new way of thinking. I also learned how easy it is to do this and basically, that all you need is the intention to change together with consistent and persistent effort. Well, you are no stranger to making consistent and persistent effort by now are you!
It is extremely important for you to feed yourself with constant empowering and uplifting thoughts; even if [and especially when] self-doubt creeps in and you are feeling far from bright, clever, or accomplished. Which, by the way you truly are.
This improved way of thinking is easy to learn and adopt. Also, not only will it make your experience and performance at university so much better, it will enable you to be so much more successful in other areas of life too.
Before you go, a question please: “What do you have thoughts of self-doubt about?”
Yours in positivity
Carole
“Passionate About People Succeeding”
The answer to this question may depend on the career that you are aiming for but in general, I would strongly suggest that you give this some serious attention from your second year onwards.
During this time you can look at what jobs are currently available within your area of interest and perhaps widen your choice of occupations. For example, last month a Law Graduate of last year [2010] came to me and said that she had not continued with Postgraduate study of her Legal Process Course because she did not want to work as a Lawyer in private practice; she wanted to use her degree in order to help people at a more ‘grass roots’ level.
She was not aware of Third Sector [Voluntary Sector] opportunities that will enable her to do just that and, that she could study her LPC distance learning whilst working for an employer.
So, from this example I suggest that you get the national paper most likely to advertise the vacancies you could apply for; The Times on Tuesdays for Law, The Times on Fridays for Education, and the Guardian on Wednesdays for Voluntary Sector opportunities are just some, and get some ideas about what it is possible to do.
[You may already be aware that by getting these papers you will keep up to date with current thinking in your field and use this knowledge within seminar discussion and / or essays].
During you second year much of this will be research rather that making actual applications but I believe this will be an invaluable exercise to ensure that you don’t ‘miss out’.
When you find a vacancy that interests you then please download the person and job specification and get into the habit of ‘ticking’ off as much of the criteria that you can; get into the habit of affirming to your self all of the transferable skills you already possess without the degree that you will have at some point soon. This exercise is good for your [employability] confidence.
When you look during your second year at what the employers are asking for, you will then have time to make the adjustments you may not have realised necessary. For example during my second year I became a trained Probation Volunteer to support my aim to work in Voluntary Sector Criminal Justice.
Voluntary work can also play an important part when you are aiming to work in the private or public sector. I shall write in more detail about the value of voluntary work at some future date.
Before you go, let me ask you this question please:
“Have you decided when you will start researching vacancies and if so, when will that be?”
Yours in positivity
Carole
“Passionate About People Succeeding”
I have just posted a reply in a forum to a Post Graduate who said that she was facing a challenge with regard to being asked to teach. Her thread started with quite a bit about how she just could not imagine herself doing this, how she remembers that in the past her mouth would go dry and her mind ‘go blank’ during her presentations. This student wanted to overcome this fear because she realised that she was lucky to have been asked to teach.
Does her challenge sound familiar to you?
My suggestion to her was that the answer to her challenge lay in the words that she has used; that she ‘couldn’t imagine’ herself doing this. This is the very first thing that needs to change if a fear is to be overcome. Imagining or visualising on a daily basis is a proven technique.
Seeing yourself speaking in public, presenting to a group, or at an interview in a confident manner; seeing yourself enjoying the process, receiving applause and feeling successful will have a really positive effect on your ability. Take your visualisation to the next level and add colour, sound and smell [yes smell] to it. You could do this by imagining that you can smell the coffee that the hospitality team have just brought into the room as a break is scheduled after your presentation. Why smell? The reason for this is that smell is the sense that will ‘anchor’ the visualisation in your mind.
Have some fun with this, your visualisation does not need to be long. In fact a short film in the cinema of your mind is best as it is easiest to recall and most importantly, re-run frequently. First thing when you wake up and last thing before you go to sleep are perfect times for this work.
Before you go, a question please; “Do you have a fear of public speaking? If not, please let me know what your number one fear is”. Thank you.
Yours in positivity
Carole
“Passionate About People Succeeding”
“When you have an authentic desire to achieve something, you will look to every possible tool and resource that will help you get it.”
From “The Motivated Mind” by J.M. Gracia
Most of my Coaching clients are mature students and usually they come to me because they want to improve their level of motivation or confidence. Whilst you may not be surprised to hear that it is not motivation with regard to studying that they want to improve, you may wonder why they would choose to work on improving motivation within other areas of their life when they have so much still to accomplish at university.
Well, firstly these are smart people because they realise that in order to be truly effective they must work on their motivation in all areas of life as failure to do this can have a negative impact on their success as a student.
I always recommend that my coaching clients get a copy of “The Motivated Mind” by Jason Michael Gracia. If I could take only one book from my bookshelf with me anywhere in the world then it would be this one. It will show you how to:
* Financial freedom
* Physical health and vitality
* Meaningful relationships
* A rewarding career
This is a resource that will not only have a massive positive impact on your success as a mature student but will enhance the quality of your life in general.
You can get your copy at:
http://a84fdyw3w5ru0v8g-c-1hblzcp.hop.clickbank.net/ 
Carole
“Passionate About People Succeeding”
Whilst watching ‘the’ wedding earlier today I was filled with a great feeling of aspiration. Just watching all those people being happy, being nice to each other and demonstrating, in my opinion much that is great about this nation. I love my country and am not alone, I know. Let’s just focus on what is positive and great in our lives; for what we focus on expands. We all have much to celebrate and be grateful for if we look for it.
I hope that you have been enjoying today, whether or not that involves ‘the’ wedding.
Yours in positivity
Carole
“Passionate About People Succeeding”
Today the DWP revealed that 5.4 million people now aged between 17 and 50 will live to be 100 and that there were 11,600 centenarians in 2009 which equalled 70% more than 10 years ago. Have you thought about how long you will live or are you just going to wait and see what ‘shows up’? I would like to encourage you to decide now to make all your future years an active and joyous experience.
It is not necessary to take anything in life ‘as it comes’. By learning about the Law of Attraction, setting some life goals and working to achieve them you put yourself firmly in the driving seat of your life. Even if / when life throws you some challenges along the way you can learn how to keep yourself on track with your goal. How long you live and the quality of your life is no different from any other goal in that it is your mindset that will shape your ability to achieve that goal.
What I did
A few years ago I made the decision that, God willing I would live to be at least 104 and that I would end my life in active enjoyment of it and as a positive experience. The way I feel right now is that I could be starting a new business venture when I am 90. I fully intend to maintain this mindset because it is mindset that will determine that outcome.
In his book “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind” Deepak Chopra writes about how it is the attitude of mind that determines our quality of life and length of it and whether ‘old age’ will be one of senility or usefulness and enjoyment. Maintaining the desire to learn is a crucial factor, as is maintaining a certain mindset.
I hope I have given you something to think about!
Yours in positivity
Carole