This is the second post in the series on ‘How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated’.
- Part 1: Find Your ‘Why’ For Studying
- Part 2: Change Your Attitude
Once upon a time, some parents were struggling to get their three little brats kids to brush their teeth every day. They yelled, nagged, and coaxed – all without avail.
One day, they had an Idea.
“I bet you’re not going to win today,” said Mum to the kids at the dinner table that night.
“Win what, Mum?”
“The Terrific Toothbrushing Tournament.”
“What tournament?”
“Each time one of you doesn’t brush their teeth, Dad and I get a point. Every time you brush your own teeth, you’ll get a point. You three kids are competing against each other and against Dad and me. Whoever has the most points each week wins an icecream. I have a hunch that Dad and me will get this week’s icecream.”
With a clamour of, ‘No, I will!’, the kids were off in a shot to brush their teeth.
Do you think there was any problem with toothbrushing in that house anymore?
Those parents were only able to get their kids to brush their teeth by changing their attitude to it. The moment it stopped being a chore and started being a game, the kids did it, no questions asked.
If it works for kids, why can’t it work for us?
Change your whole attitude to studying – start seeing it as fun rather than painful – and your motivation levels will skyrocket.
So how can you change that attitude?
1. Turn ‘I have to’ into ‘I get to’.
Just some simple switching of words can actually change your attitude amazingly. Each time you catch yourself saying ‘I have to do this’, replace it with ‘I get to do this’ or ‘I want to do this’.
Try to think of, and even write down, one reason why it’s great that you can do the work. Stop thinking of your tasks and study time as obstacles – instead, they’re milestones or paths to achieving what you want to achieve!
2. Ban negative self-talk.
As soon as you hear yourself
- grumbling that you have to do it
- blaming someone else
- saying you wish you didn’t have to
- worrying about how lazy and stupid you are
- moaning about how boring and difficult it is
- complaining that you’ll never succeed anyway
then stop yourself right in your tracks.
I get it, you can’t help thinking those thoughts – but every time you hit one, recognise it, take a deep breath, pause, and state the opposite out loud.
- Once I get into this, I’m actually going to enjoy it – there’s some cool stuff in it!
- This’ll be done in no time if I just sit down and focus.
- I can succeed at this and score the mark I’m looking for.
- I passed X last time, so I can do it again this time!
Same when talking to others – don’t boast about how you’re going to fail, how you haven’t done any work, how you hate studying.
It’s impossible to over-exaggerate how much power your thoughts have on your feelings and actions. Think that study is terrible? It’s true. Think that study is helpful and enjoyable? It’s true. So just changing what you say to yourself can boost your motivation incredibly!
3. Fake ridiculous excitement.
Don’t want to do your work? Try this.
Put on this massive grin and try shouting in a super-enthusiastic voice, complete with crazy hand waving and triple italics: ‘I can’t wait to get on to this essay! I get to expose the trickery of this evil author that’s trying to manipulate meeeeeee! This is just going to be awesome!’ Join it with a mad sprint to your desk and a flying leap onto your chair as you pull out your essay question, and it’s a killer.
Or if you absolutely can’t fake that you’re dying to sit down to your maths, then try: ‘Yessssssss! By doing this, in a little while I’ll be able to go and do whatever I want, and without feeling bad about not studying! Wow! That’s absolutely awesome!’
(Apparently, writing this down makes it look even stupider than it sounds. :P)
But seriously. The exclamation marks work every time. Before long, I almost believe that I actually want to do it – and it gives me kicks for the first ten minutes at least, and by then I’m generally pretty into it anyway :P.
4. Physically power up.
When you’re slobbing on the couch, it’s hard to want to do anything – but dancing to music or getting physically moving sends the blood pumping and absolutely powers you up. Even just bouncing a bit on the couch to some upbeat music wakes you up.
5. Score points for studying.
Make it a game. Create a chart with lots of boxes. Pick an action (completing an essay, a chapter, an exercise, a trial exam, a 50-min study session, an afternoon without checking facebook once) and every time you do it, put a big red cross or star sticker in a box. Aim for a certain number of stars each week, or compete with others – and remember to reward yourself when you meet your target or win for a week! You could also check out Habitica.
Or, with a friend, you could try grabbing a deck of flashcards, shuffling it, and taking turns to pick up and test each other on a card. Get a game board and move each player’s counter forward one square when they get a right answer.
6. Add toppings to your study pizza.
How do you study? Sitting staring with glazed eyes at a textbook at 2:30 in the morning is like eating a week-old dried out pizza base without any toppings. A gluten-free one at that.
Here are some topping ideas to add to your study pizza so you’ll be more motivated to eat it!
- Have fun with weird accents or imitating teachers while reading aloud
- Watch YouTube videos on the subject
- Listen to a recording of yourself reading your notes
- Try drawing everything you read in pictures and diagrams
- Sing your notes along with music
- Repeat facts or quotes in rhythm with throwing hoops, jogging or bike-riding
7. Cultivate genuine interest in the subject.
Once you actually enjoy the subject, motivation will come a lot easier. But how can you start loving what you hate!?!?
- Look for ways to see it happening round you in real life (works best with sciences).
- Make metaphors that link the content to other things you know and enjoy (like my pizza metaphor above).
- Take initiative to research the topic – often, videos and articles are more interesting, 3D and real-life than the textbook.
- Team up with others passionate about the subject – it’s contagious!
- Pinpoint the sections you struggle with, and focus deliberately on mastering them (through deliberate practise, online research and asking questions). Often, we label subjects as ‘boring’ just because we’re struggling to get
But often, it’s a simple choice. Keep thinking that it’s boring and you hate it… and that’s how you’ll feel. In year 9, I absolutely hated accounting. I still remember the day I realised it was actually my choice whether I hated it or not, and simply decided point blank I was going to enjoy it. Didn’t look back once.
So, I’ll end on a compulsory clichéd quote:
Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude.
– Zig Ziglar
Keep working to change your attitude to study, and the motivation juices will start flowing!
How has changing your attitude worked for you? Let us know in the comments below!
Study Smasher 