Personal Responsibility Essay

Personal Responsibility and Success in College
Chrysian Garcia
GEN/200
April 17, 2013
David Lutrin

Personal Responsibility and Success in College Personal responsibility is a critical factor for success in college. As a college student you must modify and make changes to your life and life style in order to be a successful student. This includes increasing your motivation, taking on more responsibility, time management, and goal setting. As stated by Sebastianelle (1999) “There's a lot of truth to the old saying "You get out of college what you put into it." If you study, attend classes, participate in class discussions, ask for help when you need it, and learn to balance your academic life with your social life, then you will probably have a very successful higher-education experience” (Sebastianelle, 1999, p. A08). “Personal responsibility is defined as taking responsibility for your actions, accepting the consequences that come from those actions and understanding that what you do impacts those around you.” To me personal responsibility is taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. This means accepting responsibility for your actions, not pointing fingers, or placing the blame on others. This might include changing habits such as turning in late assignments, waiting until the last minute to turn in homework, or even arriving late to class. Identify any areas you struggled with in the past and work on them until they become your strengths. The relationship between personal responsibility and college success stems from being motivated, increasing your responsibility as an individual, and setting goals. Going back to school requires a personal sacrifice, time commitment, and financial commitment. This effects you personally and your family. Once you have the determined the areas to focus on in order to increase your personal responsibility this will make your educational journey a smoother ride for you and any family or friends affected by your decision to go back to college. Motivation sometimes leads us to think about something we are missing or even a task that we are dreading to do. “Perhaps there’s nothing missing in you. What we call motivation could be something that you already possess-the ability to do a task even when you don’t feel like it. Motivation is a habit that you can develop with practice” (Ellis, 2011, p. 50). Change your attitude before you start your assignment think about making a good grade, think about the end result; receiving your diploma. Second, increasing your own individual responsibility by accepting the decision you have made to go back to school and understanding that this will require changes in your current lifestyle. This can be done by implementing a schedule and following through with the schedule. Take a day and write out time slots in 30-minute intervals. Write down everything you did in that day see the areas where you are not using your time effectively adjust and make changes as needed to make the best use of your time. “Why do hour increments work so well? Precisely because they give you a deadline—one hour—to get things done. If you have all day to do task X, you’ll take all day. If you have only an hour, you’ll work that much more quickly and efficiently” (Bly, 2010, p. 3). Finally, setting and achieving goals can help you adjust to taking on personal responsibility. Clarify your goals by writing them down, this helps to form your goals and makes them more realistic. “Many of us have vague, idealized notions of what we want out of life. These notions float among the clouds in our heads. They are wonderful, fuzzy, safe thoughts such as “I want to be a good person,” “I want to be financially secure,” or “I want to be happy.” These thoughts in your head are your goals write them down and make them achievable” (Ellis, 2011, p. 67). When you have a plan for success you are more likely to follow through and achieve your

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