It’s 8 a.m. and you are sitting in your most boring general education lecture class. As the professor drones on, your mind wanders to various subjects of little relevance. When you realize you don’t know what the professor is talking about, you say to yourself, “Oh well, this class is stupid anyway. Why am I ever going to need this?”

I was in a similar position a few weeks ago: Sitting in a class, thinking how pointless it is for me to sit through lectures I was sure would have no bearing on my future life.

However, at some point during that class, I realized the topic we were discussing could be applied to my major, the things I am most passionate about.

And although I missed the first half of that lecture, I came away from that class with a new piece of knowledge.

I suspect many others like me have classes they think are pointless, irrelevant or only mildly important to their life. Let me just say that sometimes, when you let down your shield, you realize how wrong you are.

According to Mary Mauer of Life123.com, attitudes may be more of a predictor of student success than cognitive capability: “There are literally thousands of children who enter school each day ready to fail because of their attitude toward school, life, parents and themselves.”

So maybe improving your attitudes may keep you from struggling in your 8 a.m. class.

This is not just about class; this is about life. When applying for a job, meeting a new person or even having a conversation with an old friend, a bit of open-mindedness may help you to enjoy and even be successful in whatever situation you happen to be in.

Kate Lorenz of CareerRookie.com outlines some of the best attitudes to have to gain success in a career, including “anything is possible,” “failure will help pave the way to my success,” and “what else can I do?”

Keeping this type of thinking throughout life will help you gain success in whatever you do.

But let’s go back to that 8 a.m. class. How will attitudes affect your performance there?

Well, keeping an open mind in any situation, including that boring lecture class, will ensure your already existing bias will not get in the way of your education. And your continuous excuses to skip class and sleep in will not prevent you from gaining information you can use later in life.

Well, I’m right there with you. After my revelation in class, keeping an open mind and a positive attitude has been given a bump on my priority list.

So the next time you feel your mind wandering in class, open your mind, listen to the professor and be confident that somewhere down the road, this information will be useful. If you do that, you will not only get an A, but you might just learn something.