Engaging with The 5 Decisions
I tracked the decisions I made from February 11th through February 21st, putting reasonably significant decisions into one of the five categories.
(Date) – Description (Flag, if appropriate)
- I decide to make my own choices in life.
- (02/11) – I decided to prioritize my mental health through sleep, exercise, and meditation, as a way to develop systems into my life.
- (02/21) – I decided I would live on campus in Buchanan Towers next academic year, deciding to focus on staying near the school and academics, instead of moving into a house with people who would detract from my academics next year.
- I decided I will make a difference.
- (02/11) – Decided to sit down with Logan and discuss with him rather than go in the other room where it sounded like people were having fun.
- (02/13) – Decided to gather a group of friends and volunteer at a local park pulling weeds and laying mulch.
- I decided I will be a changemaker.
- (02/13) – I decided to gather my group to buckle down and finish VP2.
- (02/14) – I decided I will most definitely be visiting Oregon to strengthen my friendships but also to temporarily change my environment.
- (02/15) – I decided to go out of my way and pick up trash on campus in front of people hoping to lead by example.
- I decided to put in the effort.
- (02/12) – Decided to help show Logan how he could map out his days and weeks with a calendar and whiteboard and even created his first week with him.
- (02/11) – Decided to stay in and focus on academics while friends were going out on a Friday night.
- I decided to act.
- (02/12) – I reached out to Logan when I noticed he could use some guidance and a mental boost.
- (02/13) – I decided to squeeze the time into my day to do a kind gesture for someone.
How did this go for you?
I felt that this exercise went pretty well. It was difficult at first to figure out what I could classify as a significant decision. However, overall the whole exercise made me more aware of my decisions which I thought was a really good outcome.
What did you learn?
I learned a few things from this activity:
- Over time being more conscious of my decisions allowed me to act in a more meaningful way. This resulted in some courteous actions as well as some larger more flamboyant choices that after all, I am glad for.
- I learned that I don’t see things to be detrimental to me even when I am going out of my way to do them. This is why I have no flagged decisions. I believe that everything I do and have done can be an opportunity to learn and to grow myself.
- While tracking these decisions I also realized how tuned in I am to other people. Most of the decisions that I would track involve other people to some extent. Whether it be setting a model for people, going out of my way to help a friend, or even taking a trip to Oregon to visit an old friend. This helps me realize how important the people I surround myself with and include in my circle are, and how much they affect who I am.
What are the implications for you?
These decision statements help me to notice and be more aware and conscious of my everyday decisions. They provide me with a new lens to view my own choices from. They put my choices in the lens of direction and impact the choice I do make. They are most certainly statements to keep in mind throughout life to truly have an impact and lead a more purposeful life.
Where are you with each of the 5 IdeaGrit Decisions listed above?
- I decide to make my own decisions in life.
- I am quite comfortable with this statement. I have always seemed to have control of my life since as soon as I could walk and outrun my parents. My parents were never too pushy of any decisions and allowed me to lead my own path. That is something I have thought a lot about lately and am grateful for.
- I decide I will make a difference.
- This decision for me seems really close to finding your why. Or maybe your why can be to make a difference? However, this is yet again another thing I have been thinking about, especially after reading How to Network in College, where they cover ways to find your why. I believe I may still be on the journey for my why but I try to make a difference through actions of reaching out to people, picking up trash, and doing volunteer work.
- I decide I will be a changemaker.
- For myself, I believe lots of change comes from influence. A change can start with just one person, and a positive change is what I want to make. I am finding new ways every day that my own influence can stretch and help shape the reality around me into a better one.
- I decide to put in the effort.
- This has always been a focus for me. I think one of the best places I was taught the skill of putting in the effort was on the basketball court. It was always a battle and if you couldn’t put in the effort, you didn’t deserve a spot on the team. Nowadays, I use a lot of my effort in school. However, I have been slightly refocusing some of that effort towards my mental health since I have realized when I am mentally well I produce my best work.
- I decide to act.
- I decided to read to grow my brain, I decide to reach out to help others, I decided to volunteer to help the environment. Some decisions are more significant than others but every one of us decides to act every day whether we are aware of it or not. I choose to act on my goals, by formulating plans and following systems I have put in place for myself.
What is helping and/or hindering you with making these decisions?
Recently what I have found to really improve my decision-making is to follow the advice from our recent visit with Arathi. She talked a lot about mental health leading to mental clarity. Ever since that discussion I have reshaped my method to focus on my mental health first and work out from there. This in my eyes is very similar to finding your why and working out from there.
Living in the dorms and on-campus can be really hard and really helpful at times. We are surrounded by our peers that can help push us in the direction of success or hinder our progress entirely as far as academics and even life. We can be influenced to study when those around us are driven and working. But we can also easily be influenced towards laziness when those around us aren’t focused and eager to expand upon themselves. This is a decision that we have some control over but not entirely. I am not in a living situation with the most academic students, and it would be a struggle to move out mid-quarter. However, I am learning how I can work to help them improve by being a positive example.
Being a positive example for my peers/suitemate actually in turn benefits me. I find my suitemates much more likely to study and develop improved routines when I attempt to include them within mine. Yes, this task can be daunting at times to not only manage my own school work and simultaneously try to lead others but it can also be extremely rewarding.
Reflect on our minor and how it fits with your life / How does a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation fit for you? Describe fully noting any areas of uncertainty.
I have always had an entrepreneur within myself. Even since I was about 12 years old I was eager to learn more and expand upon myself in ways that could be actually utilized in situations. Even from this young age, I was attempting business ideas with my friends, anything from YouTube channels, to lawn mowing, to shoveling driveways in the winter.
This entrepreneur passion never died within me and in fact, only grew as time went on. As I got older and into high school, I created businesses selling clothes, online businesses, and attained skills that could be useful and were utilized in jobs such as becoming certified in Advanced Life Saving by the American Red Cross. A minor in entrepreneurship when taking a glance at my majors might seem funny, but for myself and my vision, it just feels right.
I have always wanted to be a changemaker, I have almost always felt that I have a growth mindset, and I have always wanted to be in control of my own path. Most people go to college to make money, to find a job, or to secure their dream job. I came to college to have the opportunity to make a difference. I always joked about people spending years in school to become a cog in the corporate machine. That is the opposite of what I want to do. By securing a dual major in Environmental Studies, Kinesiology – Sports Psychology, and a minor in Entrepreneurship, I am not looking to fit in as a cog, I am looking to acquire the toolbelt of skills I need to create the future I desire.
How can you get to a place, so you are consciously making the choice to do this minor as part of your change-making journey?
I feel like for me the first step to this is to track back into what we have already covered in the class. While looking back, there is one key thing that stood out to me. It wasn’t the VPCs, or the BICs, or even the BMCs, it was the question, “what is your why?” For myself and most others the why is the purpose, the why is your sign leading you on the path to your change-making journey.
I am certainly not saying I have found my why, I believe that could even be an indefinite journey, what I have found within myself though is at least the glimpse of my why. I want to make a difference, I desire to have the knowledge to equip myself with the capabilities to be a changemaker, and part of that knowledge starts here with entrepreneurship.
Exploring For Passion
I decided to make a PowerPoint presentation detailing the three activities I chose for the Exploring For Passion assignment.
Link to Presentation:
Link to Google Drive and UO montage:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1AlYFeGe1CpC_BcoYNSLCN-RaleWfxIUQ