Module 1 is coming to a close

With two weeks to go until the final submission date for module one, I begin to reflect on the last 10 weeks to see what I have learnt...

I can proudly say that I understand myself a lot better, and I am starting to develop strategies within my professional practice to tackle how I can utilise my time more efficiently. I have been working on my social skills within a working environment to enable me to form stronger professional networks and relationships. My confidence is growing each week and I believe that I just need to keep focused on my career goals in order to progress further in this field.

This week, I took part in some work experience on Monday evening at Phantom of the Opera, where I spent the evening with the Company Manager. It was reassuring to hear that her background was mainly in production administration and she didn't progress through Stage Management like so many others. I was inspired by her story and she provided wonderful advice that I can take forth on my own journey. In particular, I have taken on board that being a Company Manager involves a lot of empathy and understanding of others. Perhaps a qualification in social psychology wouldn't go unnoticed or even taking a course in mental health first aid, which could even be obtained through my current employer!

These are the lessons that I have learnt from this experience.

1. Trust in my own ability achieve what I set out to do
2. Consider a variety of career paths that can help me achieve my goals
3. Try to loosen my grip on control - just go with the flow... sometimes
4. Build my skillset to make myself more desirable
5. Seize every opportunity I come across, in order to gain as much experience as possible
6. Persevere and don't give up!

From last week's Skype session, I feel much more at ease with the assignment. I gain comfort knowing that others are having the same doubts or struggles that I am. Discussing each part of the portfolio with the tutors and other students has given me inspiration to be more creative with the Diagram. I have begun to experiment with ways I can display this piece of work and form more a interesting design that I will come to submit.

Creative writing is my strong suit, and I have spent many hours stressing over the essay; especially as it has been many years since my last piece of writing. I was determined to overcome this challenge and I feel my motivation has brought me through; self belief is truly a skill that we should all learn.
I am now at a comfortable position with my work, and I truly grateful for the learning experience of this first module.

Now I await the feedback from my first draft, take on any recommendations and power through to the end of the chapter.

Motivation gets you started and habit lets you carry on

When life seems too much, with lots to do and not enough time, instead of tackling each issue head on, we can be overwhelmed with low self esteem and procrastination begins. There are many distractions in the world and it can seem tricky to decide which is more important, so we just lie on the sofa and watch Netflix and it seems impossible to get motivated again... Here are some ways I have found to boost my own morale.

There is a message that appears on the screens at my gym, and I thought of it this morning as I walked to the gym. Just the idea of doing a work out seemed like such a difficult task because I haven't been for several weeks, but this message helped me revive the determination within.

'Motivation gets you started and habit let's you carry on'

I like to regularly work out - it releases endorphins and makes me feel better about myself, and that I have actually achieved something that. Although, I have recently had an injury from which I needed to recover, and added pressure from this course that has taken a lot of my time requiring me to study, I have had the stress of buying a house, and I attempting to start additional work experience to improve my chances of a new role at work - so I have not been very motivated recently. So, I convinced myself that if I can get through this first session, each time after that will just be habit!

Losing motivation made it difficult to find the 'want' to go back to the gym, and I have often felt guilty when I wasn't focusing one of the current major challenges. However, I have come to realise that I should still be taking time for myself; relaxing or doing the smaller things that make me feel good - anything that doesn't put too much pressure on myself to achieve.

What do you do to relax, make you feel good or helps clear your mind?

It is always thrust upon us that we should be constantly doing things to better ourselves and made to feel guilty when we take the time to relax, but remember we need these moments to recharge to improve our concentration and chance of success.

I have realised that there will always be challenges to face; some big and some small, but despite the size of the challenge, I have found that each one should be approached in the same way: It should not be viewed as an entire mountain to climb in one go, but broken down into manageable chunks. Taking each step at a time can make these huge problems seem easy.

How do you tackle the big challenges in life?

I like to make a 'to do' list. The process of ticking each task off fills me with a sense of achievement and encourages me to keep going. This is one of my favourite ways to improve my motivation. I am trying to look at the a big challenges in the same way, by giving myself milestones - small goals to work towards so the destination doesn't seem so far away. Then before I know it, I am done. And I think 'What was all the fuss about'?