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21 September 2013

How To Study Effectively: Motivating Yourself To Study

By Lachlan Haynes


For those who don't wake up and feel motivated by the prospect of a new day, we often wonder how to "get motivated". But motivation is not something you can just click your fingers and create. Sure, often we read something or watch something and then feel super motivated and ready to take on the world! But then a few hours or days pass by and we've pretty much forgotten how or why we ever got so motivated in the first place. The problem is that the reality of life has got hold of us again and so we just slump back into our old routines.

If you can visualize what you want to achieve and what your final destination looks like you will be far more likely to create desire. Why is this important? Well, your desire will dictate your actions. In order to jump out of bed each day, be thrilled by the prospect of the day ahead, and do whatever it takes to ensure you are working diligently towards your goal, you actually need to have a clearly understood end goal in mind! The challenge occurs when you have no objective in mind. You are just going through the motions.

Let's break this down into smaller parts so it's easier to understand. If you believe that completing a certain task will be useful and beneficial to you, you will naturally place a higher value on completing that task wouldn't you? For example, if you want to learn how to speak Italian then taking an Italian class is very relevant and you would have a great interest in participating.

But if the task you have to complete has no benefit to you? How do you feel motivated when what you have to do is completely unrelated to what you are trying to achieve? Well, the reality is that you are likely to revolt against the task or the person asking you to do it. For example, if you want to learn Indonesian you are forced to learn Spanish, you are probably going to be pretty upset! Again, this makes perfect sense. You want to Indonesian, not Spanish. Therefore, there is no motivation to complete the activity.

So what are we left with? Clearly, when what you are doing isn't consistent with what you are trying to achieve in life you will feel no motivation. As such, it is clear that what really matters is understanding why completing each task helps to get you closer to what you want to achieve. When you understand why you should do something and how it will help you, your motivation won't be an issue.

If you want to feel motivated then whatever you are being asked to complete should take you one step closer to your ultimate ambition. It's never about the task itself - it's about the overall outcome. Isn't it? Sure you can say things to yourself such as, "I want to get good grades" but the real driving force is what the good grades will result in. Getting into a great college or a great university, getting a job you really enjoy, or learning how to one day build your own business are all reasons to power your way through mundane subjects or tasks because if you are being truly honest what you are really trying to do is give yourself the best chance to live the life you want to live - aren't you?

Now is the time to think about your final destination. What do you really want to achieve in your life? If you had to imagine your perfect life, what would it be like? Do you imagine a big house, a big bank balance or a big family? Would you like to travel the world? Would you like to create art all day? Would you like to live in the forest? In doesn't matter what you want because there will still be steps required to get there. So what is your ultimate ambition?

You can find true motivation by understanding what you want. Spend some time considering where you want your life to go, what will be required to get it there and why that truly inspires you. Once you know what you want, you will be amazed at how each boring task you need to complete becomes easy. If the tasks still frustrate you, the goal you are striving for is still not powerful enough - it is not compelling you to action. Find your true inspiration and the motivation will always be there. Good luck!




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