What is the most important thing a college student needs to be successful? Many will say a schedule, others may say smarts, and some may say communication. I got all these answers from fellow students at my community college.

Honestly, it makes sense why these answers were the main ones that came up. With a schedule, you can get everything done and ultimately structure tends to lead to balance. Smarts are what many consider to be the difference between winners and losers. Finally, communication is important because knowing how to speak up when struggling can be a lifesaver, literally.

However, I’d like to present an answer different from all the ones above. I’d like to confidently say that I believe confidence is the most important thing a college student needs to be successful.

Confidence is the stepping-stone to all the other things we do in life.

Schedules, smarts, and communication are built from confidence. Without confidence, none of these things could be created. A good example would be focusing on the communication many students said created a successful college student. Every time we talk to somebody, we make a conscious effort to make the move to speak. Sometimes during times of self-doubt or fear, we hold our tongues even when we know we want to talk. It’s happened to all of us, where we have been in a class and wanted to ask a question, but we didn’t because the environment was either too quiet or we asked ourselves whether the question was stupid or not or even worth the teacher’s time.

But if confidence is so important, how can you build it up?

Two tools I recommend to help build confidence are meditation and self-reassurance. When I say meditating, I’m not talking about being in the hills of mainland China or sitting on a podium while trying to keep your balance. When I say meditation, I just mean stepping away from your everyday activities, sitting in silence, and just letting your mind roam. Many times, people find that they start to think about themselves, their lives, and their days. This is the space where you truly get to ask yourself why you do the things you do and get answers. These answers can be a relief and help you realize that as a human, we don’t make decisions with no reason. Feeling like we do irrational things for no reason is what makes many of us feel isolated or even crazy. But better understanding yourself can combat these feelings.

The other thing you can do is self-reassure. Practice positive self-talk. Pat yourself on the back when you do something good. Look at yourself in the mirror and say simple things like “you’re worth it” or “you can do it”. The things you constantly tell yourself become the things you believe.

Being human, it is evident we will all face times of low confidence in our lives. But getting past these phases will ultimately make us the most successful people we can be. So, in truth, yes, I think confidence the most important thing a college student needs to be successful; but I also believe this is the most important thing for anybody no matter age, race, student or not, to be successful.

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