HAVING INITIATIVE (CONT.)

Have the initiative to increase your knowledge. Family members, teachers, and neighbors have much to share. Develop good study habits and then use them.

To complete big projects, ou might need to aim for small goals along the way. Hikers who walk the two thousand miles of the Appalacian Trail from Maine to Georgia don't do it all in one day. Each morning they set out to walk about a dozen miles. That might not seem like much when there are so many miles to go, but a few miles every day carries them over mountains, through valleys, and past sparkling lakes. Late one afternoon they come to a windy mountaintop that is the end of the trail. By setting reasonable goals and then sticking to their plan, they can walk the entire Appalacian mountain range.

You can meet many challenges that way. Map out a route to reach a goal of where you want to go, what you want to learn, or what you would like to achieve. Figure out the small steps that will take you there, then complete them one at a time.

The hardest part of making your own adventures might simply be getting strted. But once you've laced up your hiking boots and are standing at the beginning of a trail, noting can hold you back. Once you've said hello to someone and been greeted with a smile, the tough part of making a new friend is over. And as soon as you open a book and stat reading, the words will seem to flow.