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Desiderata: Keep Going...

Law and YodaLaw and Yoda Alum Member
edited February 2021 in Off-topic 4312 karma

Many of you like myself spend today reflecting on what a year it has been and look forward for what's to come in the following year. As I sat down and thought about my journey thus far with the LSAT and what is to come, I felt compelled to share words of encouragement with this wonderful community.

I started this journey more than a year ago now and with wishful thinking that I could study for 3 months and put it behind me. Once I realized that it wasn't that simple for me, I had to readjust and become comfortable with delaying not one but now two application cycles. I share this for those who feel immense pressure to stay on a directed path and deadline. If you have the opportunity to forgo an application, do not fear delaying, do not fear time. Seriously, don't let the fear of how long it could take to achieve your goal stand in the way of getting there. Remember that it isn't the destination but your growth in the journey. "Never give up on your dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it, the time will pass anyway" - Earl Nightingale

One of the worst mistake I made in the beginning was putting myself down and questioning whether I was even "smart enough" to make it. Don't sabotage yourself by adopting negative attitudes about your intelligence or abilities to reach your target LSAT score. The pursuit of creating success should be you taking care of yourself first which means not putting yourself down. Success happens when you show up powerful and through believing yourself. "The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts" - Marcus Aurelius

Failure. There is no such thing with the LSAT, it took me quite some time to understand this. I thought my diagnostic of a 147 was a failure, that getting an entire problem set wrong was a failure, that not seeing improvement meant I was failing. All of these aren't failures. I started to think of each question as a rung on a ladder; you go rung by rung, one step at a time. Sometimes you don't think you're progressing until you step back and see how many steps you've climbed. Every missed question is just an opportunity to get better, be persistent in your mindset and keep trudging through until you achieve results. I'm a huge sports fan, so I'll use this analogy for anyone out there who may be able to relate. When you drop a basketball it bounces. Every time you let it bounce without touching it, it becomes lower until it settles on the ground. If you keep dribbling, it will keep bouncing. You have to keep dribbling, you have to keep bouncing back despite how many times the test tries to make you settle. Even if you don’t yet know how you will resolve the task, keep bouncing. "No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself" - Seneca

Be ready to face any challenge and overcome it. Be hungry for success. Keep going no matter what.
Remember, "Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor" - Alexis Carrel

Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! Best of luck :)

Comments

  • canihazJDcanihazJD Alum Member Sage
    8491 karma

    Great post. Happy new year B.

  • axbSunDevaxbSunDev Member
    256 karma

    What an amazing, heartfelt, and stoic post. You quoted some of my favorite stoics too! haha as someone who had to forgo TWO application cycles, I felt this to the core. Thank you for your encouragement!

  • Jennifer 2021-1-1Jennifer 2021-1-1 Core Member
    204 karma

    Great Post !!! Happy New Year 2021!!!

  • Confidence150Confidence150 Alum Member
    1422 karma

    Wonderful post!! Thanks for your encouragement. Cheers to 2021!! Happy New Year.

  • cole.davis10cole.davis10 Alum Member
    361 karma

    Love the encouragement and the quotes! Thanks for taking the time to post this. Having decided to delay a cycle myself, it really resonated.

  • whatsmynamewhatsmyname Member
    606 karma

    Nice post! Have you watched Mandalorian? Enjoyed it and recommend it.

    I also realized 3 months wasn't enough... and before starting, I thought I could ace it after 1 month of study, ha ha.

    Out of curiosity, what are you PTing at now?
    and what was your PT 6 months into studying?

    Cheers!

  • Law and YodaLaw and Yoda Alum Member
    4312 karma

    @whatsmyname said:
    Nice post! Have you watched Mandalorian? Enjoyed it and recommend it.

    I also realized 3 months wasn't enough... and before starting, I thought I could ace it after 1 month of study, ha ha.

    Out of curiosity, what are you PTing at now?
    and what was your PT 6 months into studying?

    Cheers!

    I finished the CC in 6 months and had improved to a 152 with a 168 BR. I’m currently at a 158 with a 175-180 BR. Still have a lot of room to improve!

  • sliu17sliu17 Core Member
    15 karma

    Thank you!!! I needed this post.

  • whatsmynamewhatsmyname Member
    606 karma

    @"Law and Yoda" said:

    @whatsmyname said:

    I finished the CC in 6 months and had improved to a 152 with a 168 BR. I’m currently at a 158 with a 175-180 BR. Still have a lot of room to improve!

    The clock definitely FSU! Good luck!

  • laura_lololaura_lolo Live Member
    161 karma

    Thank you for your post on encouragement. I really liked reading it!

  • swanganieswanganie Yearly Member
    edited February 2021 294 karma

    Great post going into the new year. Thanks for the encouragement.

  • angelaylee97angelaylee97 Member
    226 karma

    I needed this, thank you :smile:

  • oneclimboneclimb Alum Member
    268 karma

    Great quotes!

  • BadReasoning2022BadReasoning2022 Alum Member
    110 karma

    happy new year!

  • Alice003Alice003 Alum Member
    691 karma

    Thank you for posting this wonderful post here! It is very inspiring us! Yes, LSAT is hard but we can overcome it.

  • PlatinumPlatinum Member
    363 karma

    Outstanding!

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