Fulfilling outcome

It's very exciting when you set out to achieve a goal. Invest the required energy and record success at the end of it. The result always comes with a sense of accomplishment.

There is this fear of uncertainty that accompanies every set goal. The first thing to achieve on your path to achieving the broader goal is to defeat this spirit of uncertainty. You need to believe you can do it before setting out to attempt it.

This is the strategy that I adopted recently. A subject proved difficult for me to understand. It was a course in my MSc curriculum. The course is about reaction mechanisms and kinetics.

On the first day of the lecture, the professor gave us the first half of the course contents. The introductory class didn't go down well with me. My classmates felt the same. The professor taught the course with the assumption that we were his peers in the field. The approach made things more difficult for us. Some of my classmates tried to convince the professor so that they could drop the course. He told them that it is compulsory for everyone. I glanced through the prepared note given to us, and I nearly gave up before starting. But then, I felt it was necessary for me to work on my fear and change my mindset.

I picked up my pen and wrote 'A' on the first page as my target grade in the course. From that point on, I started reading the material gradually. Whereas I could read about five pages of other courses in an hour, I spent more than an hour on a page in the course under reference. I went to search engines like Google to find a way to read other people's work regarding this area of chemistry/chemical engineering. I didn't stop at that. I went to YouTube to watch videos of what different professors have to say about the topic. AI was there for me to explore too. All these efforts gave me a direction as to how to grasp the concepts in the course. It got to a point; I spent about ten days reading only this course.

A few weeks later, the professor scheduled a test as the final assessment before the examination. I doubled up my preparation. Each time I carried the lecture note, I approached it as if that was the first time I was reading the note. The grade that I wrote on the first page encouraged me by assuring me that I can do it each time I carry the note. We wrote the test, and a few days later, the professor sent for me. He was so impressed with the performance that he wanted to have a handshake with me. It was one of the greatest moments of my life—having a commendation handshake with my teacher.

Shortly after, we wrote the examination for the course. I smiled throughout the examination. When the results came out, I scored an 'A' grade. I also came top of the class in the course. I went to the last page of the course note and wrote, 'goal achieved.' I plan to keep the note for my kids. I need to teach them how one can have a dream and work hard to achieve it.

I am now through with the coursework of the degree. I am in the laboratory working on my thesis. It's a fulfilling journey so far, and I am loving the experiences that come with it.