Think about your strengths, think about your weaknesses but most of all think about where you want to be years from now and the goals you must achieve to get there.

It was at the end of my freshman year in college when I decided something needed to change. I had barely taken any classes and finished my first two semesters with a 1.6 GPA. I had no motivation, no drive and no goals, all because I didn’t know what I wanted to do yet.

I switched from a business major to psychology and although I knew I wanted to be in business, I found the subject quite boring; even though I found psychology incredibly interesting, I didn’t want it to be my career. For a young woman embarking on her adult life, I wasn’t off to a very good start.

The summer before my junior year, I took time to really think about what I wanted to do with my career and how I wanted to get there. I thought about my strengths and what I am naturally good at and passionate about. It was only then that I realized I didn’t have to choose between my two interests: I could combine them.

The very next day, I declared myself as a Psychology major and with a thematic minor in Consumer Related Business. I filled my schedule with classes that related to my personality and career choice and from that moment on there was nothing that could stop me.

I graduated in four years with a major GPA of 3.8 and a minor GPA of 4.0 and landed my dream job as a sales representative at a successful startup in Silicon Valley.

I would tell other women about to lean into their careers to stop—take a step back and think about everything that makes you, you. Think about your strengths, think about your weaknesses but most of all think about where you want to be years from now and the goals you must achieve to get there.