Pursue your goal when the time is right

After a 10-year hiatus from higher education, I'm strongly considering going back to school next year and pursuing a master's degree in English. Considering I bought three prep books earlier in the week to help me prepare for the Graduation Record Examinations (GRE) -- which my program of interest requires a good score on in order to be accepted -- I'd say that shows I'm pretty serious about taking the plunge.

Sometimes I regret waiting so long to get my master's -- then I remind myself that it was ultimately a wise choice. Not only have I been able to gain ample work experience in my field, but the money I would have used on the master's has instead gone towards major life events like getting married, buying a home, and taking a few bucket list vacations. With no debt to speak of (mortgage notwithstanding), I'm in a much better financial position now to get a master's than I would have been if I'd gone to grad school right after earning my bachelor's.

Whether it's our finances, family life, or demanding jobs that force us to put off pursuing a particular goal, we all have legitimate reasons for doing so. For example, you might shelve plans to buy a car you've been eyeing until you build up your savings enough to feel comfortable making such an investment.

What we should never do, however, is fail to work toward achieving that goal for one or more of these reasons:

Sheer laziness
A defeatist attitude
Fear of change
Being ready, but still not wanting to commit

There's an obvious difference between "not being ready" because you have several things you genuinely intend to iron out first, and saying you're not ready as an excuse to justify not taking action.

For instance, let's say Sally plans to go on a diet and says she wants to wait until she's saved up enough to renew her gym membership, as she finds that eating less goes hand in hand with vigorous exercise.

Would you say her reason for putting off the diet is valid?

While she demonstrates that she's responsible with her finances, what's stopping her from taking a jog around the park or even exercising at home in the interim? And no one says she needs to have an active gym membership in order to watch what she eats.

As for me, even though I've been out of school for ten years now, I've still found other ways to indulge my academic tendencies in my spare time, like managing this blog, reading countless books, watching documentaries, and visiting museums. Not being in school shouldn't preclude me from using my own devices to gain knowledge.

I know that deep down, it would be a shame if someone as intellectually curious as I am didn't get a master's. I love learning and feel the time is right to scratch it off my Bucket List, so why not?

Once you know you're ready to begin working toward a goal, don't wait any longer or you may never get around to it. And when you find yourself making excuses for why you shouldn't go for it, remind yourself that life is too short to squander any window of opportunity.

Even if things don't work out as planned, you'll at least take pride and pleasure in the fact that you gave it a shot and won't be left wondering "what if."

Whatever your goals, I wish you much luck and success!

Women vs. Men: Who likes to backstab more?

Whether it's on TV or in the workplace, the general consensus seems to be that women gossip, backstab, and stir up more conflict than men do. But, as with every other topic, I thought it only fair to put this so-called stereotype under the microscope. If you watch reality shows like Celebrity Apprentice, you'll notice it's the women who spend far more time bickering. While the men do at times become embroiled in tit for tat, it's the women who are portrayed as meaner and more hostile. In the workplace, I have noticed that women seem to gossip far more than their male counterparts. I haven't really seen any cases where a person blatantly backstabs the other, but I have caught both men and women in little white lies. If it is true that women are generally more into backstabbing and gossiping than men, why is this the case? I believe that it isn't fair to make a blanket statement like "all women play these games while all men keep to themselves and pre...

Do you have Isolophilia? Find out...

You're probably asking yourself, "What in the world does Isolophilia mean?" It sounds like it would be something negative, doesn't it? After all, words that end in "philia" (e.g., pedophilia) tend to involve things we want nothing to do with. But Isolophilia isn't something all people deplore. In fact, introverts like me welcome it. Put simply, Isolophilia is defined as having a strong affinity for solitude. It describes a person who relishes being alone. While extroverts can only take so much solitude, we introverts find that it rejuvenates us. In order to recharge our batteries, we need to retreat to a quiet environment where we we're left alone to rest and/or gather our thoughts. Extroverts, on the other hand, become bored and drained when they're alone for a lengthy period of time. Social interaction is the fuel that drives them. So while an extrovert would probably do anything to avoid feelings of Isolophilia in most cases, an...

Men prefer to marry brunettes

Study after study shows that men prefer blondes as girlfriends or mistresses and brunettes as wives . It seems many men see brunettes as more trustworthy and loyal. What's more, even though participants claimed that blondes are better in bed, they feel brunettes are better kissers and more affectionate than blondes. I find these results to be rather interesting. In my high school and early college days, I actually had a preference for blondes myself -- that is, until I hooked up with my now-wife. From that point on, I deemed brunettes as more attractive and marriage material, probably because they reminded me of and more closely resembled her. I think we can blame Hollywood, shows like Baywatch, and Playboy for painting blondes as wild, big chested, promiscuous and loose. (Yes, I know that there are brunettes in Playboy, but they seem to be in the minority.) When someone tells a man to think of an attractive blonde, who do you think likely crosses his mind? More likely than...

How to Read People

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