You’ve been running for miles. You’re exhausted. You can’t wait to be done.
You turn the corner and finally see the finish line.
What do you do?
Slow down and walk the rest of the way?
Or sprint to the finish line?
I know how a dedicated cross-country runner would answer: they would finish strong.
But this is an education blog, so I’m not really talking about running a race. I’m talking about school.
It’s May, so the school year is nearly over. For graduating seniors, high school itself is coming to an end. There’s an understandable temptation to start taking it easy.
Acting lazy. Coasting until summer vacation. Senioritis.
Whatever you call it, it’s a mistake.
I can already hear your objections:
But Chris, I’ve worked so hard this year, I deserve a break.
I have good grades. Even if I slack off for the rest of the semester, my GPA will be fine.
I’ve already been accepted to university. All I have to do now is graduate.
Fair enough. But the point of high school is not to get good enough grades to graduate and go to college. The point of school is to learn and grow. And you have the opportunity – the privilege – to use school as a mental training ground all the way up to the end.
Finish strong because you’re not “done” yet. You won’t be done when school is over. In fact, I hope you never stop learning and growing.
Finish strong because acting lazy is a form of arrogance, like the hare who took a nap near the finish line, while the tortoise labored on.
Finish strong because it sends your brain the right message about who you are, reinforcing a hard-working identity that will serve you in the future. Everything you do counts, even if it doesn’t affect the results people see on paper. The way you do everything matters, even – maybe especially – at the end.
So finish strong and carry that momentum into the next chapter of your life.
Chris Loper has been working as a tutor and academic coach since 2014, racking up over 13,000 hours of experience supporting students.
Along with Greg Smith, Chris is the co-creator of Parenting for Academic Success, a series of classes that create empowered parents, confident students, and harmonious families.
Chris writes the popular self-improvement blog Becoming Better, where he also offers habit coaching, helping busy adults with habit formation and productivity.
Chris’s most recent endeavor combines his academic and habit-formation expertise to help students thrive in college. Visit SmartCollegeHabits.com to learn more.
In 2021, he published a humorous memoir titled Wood Floats and Other Brilliant Observations, a book that blends crazy stories with practical life lessons.
He lives in Issaquah, WA, where he is the owner of South Cove Tutoring.