It doesn’t really matter if you have a bicycle or a high-powered sports car if all you do is coast down the street at 2 mph.

The sports car has more potential – but only if you use it differently. Have you ever been told that you are not “using your potential” academically?

Usually we think that means we are not working hard enough. Sometimes that might even be true. But unlocking your academic potential involves a lot more than just hard work.

Have you clearly stated (for yourself) why you are in college? “To get a good job” or “Because my parents would kill me if I didn’t go to college” are not motivations that will propel your potential.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get a good job, and a degree will most likely help you to do so, but meanwhile you have several long years when that goal will seem a long way off.

Think about some more immediate, idealistic goals: “To learn as much as I can,” “To be able to think in a more mature and flexible way,” “To feel that I am improving myself every year.”

Can you find something to like in every class?

I guarantee you that if you look upon each class as a chore to complete, you will not tap your academic potential.

Make it a challenge to find something of value in every class. Take the time with your adviser each semester to make the best possible course choices for you.

Choose to have a good attitude, if humanly possible.

Do you have people who share your academic enthusiasms?

If your friends think you are a geek because you love computer programming, writing poetry or military science, find some additional friends.

Look for people with whom you can, without self-consciousness or rancor, have a spirited political debate or a discussion of something you found fascinating in your Geology class.

Don’t overlook your family. Your dad may fall off his chair if you call to discuss something exciting you learned in a class, instead of asking for money!

If your parents don’t understand your interests, give them the courtesy of trying to explain and also find other people who can share your interests.

Are you connecting to your professors?

If you want to pursue academic excellence, you have role models all around you. Your professors chose higher education because of a passion for their subjects and a desire to teach.

Find the professors who radiate joy about their chosen fields – you know the ones I mean.

Seek them out during office hours and initiate a conversation that goes beyond “Is this going to be on the test?”

Can you stop insulting yourself?

If you had a friend who was having difficulty in her Math class, the last thing you’d do would be to stand behind her while she was doing her homework and tell her, “You’ll never get that right. You are terrible in math. Math is stupid.”

Yet you may be saying these very things to yourself, and then wondering why your performance suffers.

Practice saying to yourself, “This is a challenge and I can meet it.” Then seek out resources and take an active approach to problem-solving.

Don’t you want to invest your time, your money and your energy in a high-quality education?

All the components for a fine college education are here. You are in the driver’s seat.

The “horsepower” for your education comes from your determination. Think of yourself as James Bond, skillfully eluding all obstacles and enjoying yourself as you go.

Use your potential for an exciting, high-powered college career.