We live in a dynamic time when staying focused and on top of things are the tools to excel and guarantee success in both professional and personal arenas. Pursuing a graduate study and improving communication skills are a few of many ways I chose to guarantee my personal and professional success. It wasn’t easy taking the decision to pursue a graduate study, and like all major decisions in one’s life, it comes with challenges, which were of an emotional, financial, and organizational nature in my case. To facilitate success, setting goals is most commonly seen as the way forward. In addition to discussing setting goals and milestones, I will be exposing the challenges met in the road to success and the related strategies to overcome them
The milestones can be as short as few hours and as long as six weeks. Each milestone will have a set of second level to-do list to ensure that they are achieved within the time frame and specifications set. I will next be exposing the challenges to achieve my goals and the related strategies to overcome them.
Emotional Challenge
As stated above, one of the challenges I met was emotional and more specifically family related. “Failure to complete a course or degree is typically caused by social or family reasons rather than academic reasons” (Kramer, 2007, 158-159). My first priority is my family. I am a mother, and my son is my life. As stated above, I am a consultant, and consulting work can be a very demanding job where assignments can take all of my time. It is already challenging to find enough time for my family, and for myself. Starting a graduate study will be taking most of my already small spare time. The best way to overcome this challenge is to keep in mind the big picture, which is enhancing my career to provide better living for my family.
Financial Challenge
In addition to the day-to-day financial responsibilities, pursuing a graduate study is an additional financial stress that one can live without. Although an online education is not as costly