Belief
If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person
to another, but ordinarily your Belief causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value
responsibility and high ethics--both in yourself and others. These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They
give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with
direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This
consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. "I know where you stand," they
say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work
must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your Belief theme it will only matter if it gives you a chance to
live out your values.
Student Strategies:
General
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Stay focused on your goals. Even if you add new goals and focus on different ones at different times, always
keep your goals in mind.
Define your academic mission and your personal mission.
Let God guide you when life seems like it is too much to handle alone.
Adjust to new demands and situations, but maintain your values.
Set your priorities straight and follow that order: first things first.
Try to deal with the present, not the future. Take things one step at a time.
In your strongest area of belief, assume leadership positions that promote and support that belief.
Academic Life
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Use your beliefs to make a subject relatable.
Always see a purpose in assignments. Find or develop a purpose when you need to.
Write on themes in which you have strong belief.
It is crucial that your research results be credible.
If a test looks hard at first and stresses you out, slow down, breathe deeply, and take it one question at a time.
Ask "Why?" Understand why you are learning what you are learning; this will make learning easier and more
enjoyable.
Learn to learn because you want to.
Define an academic mission in which achievement will help you become more consistent and help you reinforce
your beliefs.
Study Techniques
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Apply your beliefs to what you are reading; this will help you keep an analytical mind and come up with some
great questions.
When creating a research paper, first come up with the thesis, and then attack the research with that mission in
mind.
Allot study time for what is important to you personally.
Relationships
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Use your trust and dependability to build study groups with people and to teach others what you are learning.
Encouraging others reduces your own discouragement.
Learn from helping other people.
Class Selection
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Take classes that have something to do with your belief system.
Take classes that sound exciting and intriguing.
Classes that develop your beliefs help you discover what will bring you meaning in life. This in turn can help
guide future class selections.
Select classes that help you clarify, reinforce, and live out your beliefs.
Co-curricular Activities
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Join activities in which responsibility is important.
Be sure to allow time for important non-academic activities that you enjoy; spend time with your family and
friends.
Get involved in community organizations that foster your belief system.
Career
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Work for an organization that has a mission.
Work where your values will be respected.
Always incorporate your values into your job.
Use your trustworthiness and dependability to get promoted and to gain relationships that can help you in the
work environment.
Make your career a direct extension of your beliefs and values.
You may want to assume leadership responsibility or run for an office that allows you to make a difference and
that is consistent with your values and/or advances your beliefs.
You will be interested in careers in which you can help people. This helping may be in the form of direct services
to individuals in need, or helping those you supervise.
When deciding on a career, a good question to ask is, "Will it be fulfilling?"
Ask your mentors and role models what they think about the career you are considering.
Your beliefs define the purpose and direction of your life. Be sure you have clearly defined those beliefs and
constructed your life mission around them.
Let your beliefs and personal mission generate your motivations for being in college and achieving. When
discouraged, tired, and feeling overwhelmed, go back and review your mission and the beliefs that make it
important for you to persist and learn.
Volunteer to work with organizations that hold values consistent with your own.
When you run for an office or take on a responsibility in an organization, first make sure you deeply believe in
what the organization stands for and is trying to accomplish.
Throughout college and your life, always have a mentor and be a mentor to someone. This will help you ensure
that your behaviors, decisions, and beliefs remain consistent.