Wellness Corner 37: The Three A’s

Hey Falcons,

I’ve always been fascinated with the future and my future. At a school like Kinkaid, with so many high-achieving, high-aspiring students, I don’t think I’m alone.

I recently learned about an exercise used by some companies that interested and inspired me. All you need is a piece of paper, a pen/pencil, and a couple of minutes. On one side of the paper, you write where you see yourself in 20 years, and the skills you think are necessary for the role. On the other side, you write what you need to do to get there. In completing this exercise, you go through the process of ambition, awareness, and action — the three A’s.

Self-awareness is a skill we cultivate and sometimes overindulge in as high-schoolers. I like to think of it in a positive light as the recognition of your responsibility to create your own reality. Ambition needs awareness to lend it direction and propel you to action. It’s easy to write about what you want, but noting down all that you need to start, stop, and continue doing to achieve those goals is more difficult. That shouldn’t limit your aspirations, though. I read somewhere that aspirations “don’t have to be a prisoner of the present or bound by the odds of success.” Aim for the moon, and you’ll land among the stars.

Your journey with the three A’s, and our journey in life in general, is an individual one. Looking at those who seem ahead of you on their journey will shift your focus from the most important race: your own. So to conclude, let’s try out the three-A exercise this week and also try working with “blinkers on,” focused on our own race.

Stay well,

Eshaan