How do YOU personally motivate yourself to keep giving your all in school?

[annoyinggirl]

What do you say to yourself to keep you chasing and working hard on your academic goals and dreams? Do you use rewards to motivate yourself? Do you stick inspirational/motivational posters on your dorm/apartment walls?

 

[WannabeNewton]

The fact that my parents are breaking their backs and going out of their way to pay for my tuition are more than enough motivation for me to make sure I give it my all when it comes to academics.

 

[I like Serena]

I never had to.

My interest has always waxed and waned, but just following my natural inclinations always worked for me.
(I really do like science.)

How are your likes and dislikes for science?
Anything that fires your imagination?
Or stuff that really dampens you down?

 

[dydxforsn]

energy drinks. Ohhh the energy drinks...

 

[rootX]

Friends, studying in a group helps. Now only if you choose your friends with care

 

[trollcast]

Look round the class and think that in a few years time they'll be the competition for jobs and no one wants to have to work at Mc Donalds because they slacked and someone else who worked harder got that job because maybe their grades where better.(No offense to McD's workers)

 

[Jack21222]

I just had high expectations of myself, and I didn't want to let myself down by not living up to them. I'd never forgive myself if I had.

 

[chiro]

The rewards to me are in the learning and the experiences I have that help me grow in my own learning both with others and alone.

Learning is the ultimate reward in life IMO: there are some things where you just suddenly go to a new level and reaching that level makes it all worth it.

I imagine all people value this kind of experience as equally important no matter what kind of division you can place on them.

I'd imagine for example, one of the things an emergency surgeon learns is that no matter if it's a victim that has been shot by a criminal or the criminal himself being wounded, they will both be treated. A lesson of learning what it's like to suppress your own ideas about what and wrong and then slowly learn the implications to me would be an experience well worth it.

In fact I imagine many of the unseen leaders of the world like the social workers, the teachers, the child carers, the lawyers who work in legal aid for lower socioeconomic classes and generally the people that for one reason or another deal with the situation of putting aside their prejudices and the crap they have to deal with from the person that is asking for help, and doing their job regardless.

I imagine a lot of these kinds of people get a kick out of the learning experience for one reason or another: for me mathematics is a way to learn about the world, about us, and about everything that is out there.

It is something that all trained people agree on and for that reason I think its universal and a good thing: it is based on a meritocracy and something where everyone has the same advantage. The arguments are debated, the definitions are agreed upon and the ground is therefore leveled.

It doesn't care about feelings, it doesn't seek to entertain, and it most important it doesn't involve an deception: it is what it is whether you like it or not. It doesn't care who you are: it remains the same regardless.

The other thing apart from the above is that there are far worse jobs out there where people bust their nut doing physical labor on minimum wage where they end up 10 years later being tough out of luck due to a back injury or at least a lot weaker, where-as you get an office job where the stress is mental (but at least you don't end up with a broken back and out of work).

The other thing is that a lot of the work out there is really horrible work: all the depressed people out there (even the high earners working crazy hours).

Finally, I am thankful in some ways that I have the opportunity to go to university: a lot of people are deprived an education and as a result they struggle and can never go where people like us go: to a university.

University does not define a person, but it gives them certain opportunities and I am thankful for that. I can't imagine what it's like to grow up in a country where people are not even given basic skills in comprehension let alone university level mathematics, and to know what some of these people have to go through in that respect helps humble me just that little bit better.

In a country like ours, I can't really think of much to complain about and the opportunities we have (even though I sometimes do).

 

[S_Happens]

The reward CAN be in the learning, but many times your interests may not align with what you're taking whether that's due to the subject, short sightedness, the way the professor handles the class, etc.

I am passionate about learning, but that's when I can do it on my own terms.

My actual motivation when I need to just grind it out comes from working on an offshore oil/gas platform and then a chemical plant for about 6 years. It was shift work, and sometimes hard work. It's the most likely place I'd end up if I didn't finish my degree, which isn't a bad thing, but not exactly what I'd like to do.

I'm not saying you need to go out and work have that motivation either. If you're like me, you can learn from others without having to experience it. Maybe just consider your future alternatives if you don't finish what you're doing.

Also like mentioned, working in the right group is extremely helpful. It's difficult to get the right people and keep the correct focus/attitude, but when you do it's extremely useful. We had ours pretty much perfected by the end of the semester, but now we'll see if we can keep the numbers down this semester.

 

[dydxforsn]

Great post Chiro! I completely agree.

I also agree with the subsequent development by S_Happens. That is usually the case where one really loses motivation. What did I do? Poorer grades than usual in those situations and I just took it like a man :) heh, well you can get around short sightedness by mentally being prepared that everything you learn could possibly repeatedly show up again even if the professor neglects to mention that (which you sort of learn after a while - your discretion on what to concentrate on really improves). You can get around bad teachers by reading textbooks, sometimes you have to read more than one (use your university library, btw this is not directed towards you S_Happens just somebody in general..) Now teachers that assign retarded material and focus on niche things that don't seem to be of central importance... well for the latter you can try to just enjoy the general process of learning even if it seems a bit uncouth, and for the former you're out of an 'A' by default and you should take it like a man <.< heh, well at least that's how it was for me.

Study/work groups are definitely paramount.