When starting my MBA at Wharton, I kept telling myself, “Don’t ruin it again. This is the last chance.”
Earlier, I had ruined my 4 years at IIT — bunking classes, always falling behind, cramming before exams to barely get a passing grade.
But this time, the stakes were really high. I was quitting my job, incurring a huge cost, and uprooting my family.
I could not afford to blow it up. But what could I do differently?
Reflected on those four years of B.Tech, I found the culprit — bunking classes.
It always started small.
Initially, I would be late to classes and not pay attention. When I fell behind, I would stop going to classes, rationalizing that since the professor was no good, I would learn from the textbook. And of course, that never happened.
If I could break the habit of bunking classes, everything else would follow suit.
So I promised myself — I would never, ever skip a class. And I kept that promise.
This changed everything. Since I never fell behind, I did my assignments on time and was motivated to prepare well for exams.
More than getting the grades and honors I craved for, what really mattered is that this time, I learned. My MBA was not a waste 🙂
Big life changes will come from changing that one small habit that starts the compromise. Do it fanatically, and it will change your mindset.
And once our mindset changes, our life too will.
Even the biggest trees have small seeds. Start small. Start now.
– Rajan