Short messages on Positive change from Respect Yourself, the guidance site for young people to help make good decisions in life.
Remember that, one day, you will be a role model for someone else. Your behaviours and influence will be picked up by younger people – good or bad. Think how you would want to positively influence their life, and what parts of you they would admire.
It is tough to be the only one who says “no” to peer pressure, but you can do it. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do. Inner strength and self-confidence can help you stand firm, walk away, and resist doing something when you know better.
Don’t always apply child rules when you are an adult. For example, as children we are told “Don’t talk to strangers”, for safety. As adults, you can do this and make new friends.
Do not forget small kindnesses, and do not remember small faults.
Your thoughts are your own. Your thoughts direct your actions. They are completely under your control – so use them to benefit you.
Decide that you are going to start each day thinking about your goals, your dreams and your positive possibilities. As soon as you wake up in the morning, start throwing out those nagging doubts and worries. Concentrate, instead, on the things you have decided to accomplish in your life.
Create a list of what you’d like to see in your life and come up with goals to make it happen. Starting an Action Journal can help you focus your actions towards your goals.
Tactile Learners can benefit from trying the following when studying: studying in short blocks, doing role play and experiments, taking trips and visits, studying with others, and using memory games and flash cards.
Auditory Learners can benefit from trying the following when studying: using word association, repeating facts with your eyes closed, doing group discussion, using audio tapes and taping notes after writing them.
Visual Learners can benefit from trying the following when studying: drawing maps of events and scientific process, taking notes, making lists and outlines, using colour and highlighting, underlining words, using video, diagrams and flashcards.