ATTAINING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

                                             ATTAINING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

The mind of God for His children is to excel in all phases of life; therefore, the academic phase of your life is not an exemption. In John 14:26, Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit, the great teacher who will teach us ALL THINGS and remind us of EVERYTHING.

To attain success in academics which is our focus for this write up, there are roles to be played by both parties i.e. God and man. The Bible verse above reveals clearly the role of Jesus which has made provision for everyone who has the Holy Spirit (Born again) to excel. He played His own role.

Here are 10 key roles that you have to play/contribute to attaining academic excellence:

1.       Make God the paramount in your life: God is the secret to a lasting success and God is also the source of a lasting wisdom. James 1:5 says 'If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.' Success and wisdom obtained outside God will fade away. To excel, you must make God first in your life. From the experiences shared by people and even from my experiences, I discovered that whenever we had exams or tests ahead, it has always been our attitude to reduce our various services/activities in church, we reduce time allotted for quite time, prayer and study of the scriptures just to have more time for our studies. Guess what? In spite of these, we still failed. Don't fall victim. As students, we must understand that for us to have success in our academics, we must devote our lives to God. God is more interested in your relationship with him, so, never allow exams/academics to be a barrier. Learn to balance the two.

2.       Never joke with your prayer life: A praying life is an excelling life. Never depend on your own ability, but depend only on what God can do through prayers. Jeremiah 33:3 says 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Even the course you don't understand through prayers you will understand. Pause for few minutes and just meditate on the verse above.

3.       Don't look down on yourself: Never make a mistake of looking down on yourself. Don't mind what people say about you but let what God says about you matter most to you. People say you are a failure but God says you are not a failure, people say you are weak academically but God says you are strong through Him, people say you you don't have a good future but God says you have a good, great and bright future. Read these »» Jeri. 29:11, 2 cor. 12:9-10, 1 Peter 2:9.

4.       Never lack determination: Determination is the bedrock to success. Never give up. Don't be fed up. Set achievable goals and ensure that you achieve them. It is your determination that will lunch you into that great height you've been craving for.

5.       Keep good and Godly friends: The friends you keep has a lot to contribute to how fulfilled you become or how well you will excel. Ensure you keep friends that will always challenge you positively. Never follow parasitic friends that will always gain from you while you will never gain from them. Follow friends that are of good impact to your destiny/purpose.

6.       Learn to be a time planner: Have these statements engraved in your heart »» Each day and Time is so precious as it is a special gift from God. Time is life, therefore, wasting one's time is equal to wasting one's life «« Ensure you have time table. Plan your day so as to maximize your time well. Don't just use your day on things that are not beneficial but on things that will contribute immensely to your life.

7.       Attend classes: Note that greater percentage of what the teacher/lecturer will set in exams will be discussed in class. Never miss a class.

8.       Ensure you cultivate the habit of note taking and also having an up to date note.

9.       Ask questions in class.

.   Have a discipler/mentor/role model: Have someone that disciplines and encourage you. Have someone you look forward to being like. These will really help you to be conscious and call you to order when straying away.

It is my prayer that as we put these key points to practice in our daily lives, God will make attaining Academic Excellence a reality in our lives. Amen.

     

     WRITTEN BY:

   ADELEKE OLAOLUWA (ALUMNI)