Let us get a little personal for a moment or so; I think that, in many ways, my first term at university was a lot harder than I perhaps let on — the main reason for which being, or at least seeming to be, my complete and utter lack of motivation. And this by no means a 'me' problem, for I believe many are the students this year who feel like they're not learning as much as they would like to, what with all classes being online. There's one thing that I have realised in the approach to the end of term, though — and that's that we should stop seeking motivation because motivation is, in many ways, a myth. Intrigued to hear my thoughts on the matter? It's time to click the 'Read More' button!
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A little throwback to happier times...
In order to understand what it is that I am about to say, I believe it's necessary to begin with a little prefacing.
This year, I have been fascinated by the idea of manifestation and the Law of Attraction. I know what you're thinking, perhaps something along the lines of "oh dear, here we go with this hippy-dippy nonsense" — but hear me out on this one. As important as it may be in practising the Law of Attraction to visualise your goals, the real key to success lies in the action that you are going to take. Let me repeat that again: the key to success lies in the action that you are going to take in order to achieve it.
You see, we are so often bogged down by the idea of motivation that we sometimes forget that it's all rather useless unless we do something practical about it. As I look back at my first term at university, I realise that where I went wrong is that I let my self-discipline go astray. It began with me waking up later and later, and before I knew it, I was scrambling to do my work at the last minute. Working from home is hard-going, we can't deny that — but it's not impossible if you have the self-discipline to pull you through.
But what do I mean by self-discipline? Self-discipline is all about setting boundaries; it is about working when you mean to work and playing when you mean to play. Needless to say, this is a skill which is ever more difficult to acquire, what with us being surrounded by so many external influences and temptations — be it the snooze button, or the many social media sites now out there today. Again, however, it is by no means impossible. On a personal level, here are a couple of the changes that I have adopted which are helping me to escape my little first term rut:
This year, I have been fascinated by the idea of manifestation and the Law of Attraction. I know what you're thinking, perhaps something along the lines of "oh dear, here we go with this hippy-dippy nonsense" — but hear me out on this one. As important as it may be in practising the Law of Attraction to visualise your goals, the real key to success lies in the action that you are going to take. Let me repeat that again: the key to success lies in the action that you are going to take in order to achieve it.
You see, we are so often bogged down by the idea of motivation that we sometimes forget that it's all rather useless unless we do something practical about it. As I look back at my first term at university, I realise that where I went wrong is that I let my self-discipline go astray. It began with me waking up later and later, and before I knew it, I was scrambling to do my work at the last minute. Working from home is hard-going, we can't deny that — but it's not impossible if you have the self-discipline to pull you through.
But what do I mean by self-discipline? Self-discipline is all about setting boundaries; it is about working when you mean to work and playing when you mean to play. Needless to say, this is a skill which is ever more difficult to acquire, what with us being surrounded by so many external influences and temptations — be it the snooze button, or the many social media sites now out there today. Again, however, it is by no means impossible. On a personal level, here are a couple of the changes that I have adopted which are helping me to escape my little first term rut:
1. Booking gym appointments early in the morning.
One of the main reasons why I struggled to get up early in the morning as I had done in the past was that I had nowhere to be, and so, if I really wanted to, I had the option to wake up 5 minutes before my Zoom class. As nice as this may be from time to time, there's no doubting that your mindset is going to differ one hell of a lot waking up at 7, rather than waking up at 9 or 10. I don't know about you, but if I wake up at 10, the day is almost instantly written off before it even had the chance to begin, for I know that I will not be able to get everything completed on time! Granted, this will no longer be an option with the new restrictions — but I'll think of something, I'm sure
2. Turning off my phone during my Zoom classes/study sessions.
We've all been guilty of spending one too many minutes mindlessly scrolling through Instagram as a means of procrastination. It's normal, and there's no need to overly beat ourselves up about it, but your mindset will be transformed if you try to limit this procrastination. It's a very simple measure when you think about it, but it's certainly not one that we find easy to do!
3. Reading for half an hour prior to going to bed.
When I began university, I got into the habit of reading something that was not related to my course for at least half an hour. This was a habit that I treasured, as it would both help me to get to sleep in no time and allow me to develop my interests outside of my degree. However, I was soon plagued with deadlines and I didn't make the time to keep this habit up. I am slowly returning to doing this and I must say, my mindset has certainly benefited from it.
Looking at the above, many of you may see a link between measures to help self-discipline and measures to improve productivity. The truth is that the two are heavily intertwined, and once you begin to see your productivity and results rise exponentially, motivation will come out of your very successes to further propel you in the right direction. Motivation is important, there's no denying it — but it appears to be a very by-product of self-discipline.
If you are intrigued to learn more about the matter, I believe Jeff Haden's The Motivation Myth deals with this topic exceptionally — it's on my winter break reading list, for sure. I am also interested to hear your thoughts in the comments section below, let's get a conversation going. Until next time!
If you are intrigued to learn more about the matter, I believe Jeff Haden's The Motivation Myth deals with this topic exceptionally — it's on my winter break reading list, for sure. I am also interested to hear your thoughts in the comments section below, let's get a conversation going. Until next time!