Study Guide

MOTIVATION: What Can I Do When I Get Discouraged?

Think about yourself

Who you are is more valuable than what you do. Your worth as a person is not based on your intelligence, your grades, how hard you work. It is enough to be you.

Respect and value the opinions of others - but realize that ultimately you must respect and satisfy yourself.

Practice impulse control by imagining the consequences of your actions. How will you feel afterwards? Then, act so that you will be satisfied with yourself.

Write out a plan for yourself. Jot down personal and academic goals and priorities, and reread them when you're in a slump.

Don't worry about or dwell on things that go wrong. Concentrate on your successes. Remember that little successes build up just as quickly as little failures.

Give yourself time to change. Forgive yourself for backsliding and making mistakes.

Don't be a perfectionist. Make approaching your goals the basis of your self-respect rather than reaching your goals.

Don't allow feelings of inadequacy to get you down. Think about all the things you do have going for you.

If you're feeling down or hopeless, imagine the worst that could happen - exaggerate your fantasies - and then laugh at them. Do this to put yourself and your current situation in perspective.

When you're down, go to someone whom you know cares for you and ask him or her to give you a "pep talk," reminding you of your good qualities and talents and abilities and/or make a list of your good qualities and read them when you need to.

Be willing to risk failure for something you really care about. Be willing to risk success, too!

If you're irrationally afraid of something, do it a lot; the fear will wear off.

Learn to recognize, sooner, events which are not turning out as they should - and act to redirect them to your satisfaction.

Think about your work

No one else is forcing you to do your work. You've decided to take it on. Don't waste your energy in hostility toward others. Accept and live with your own decisions.

Start early. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll be free to do other activities, the less worry you'll experience, the more time you'll have to recover from mistakes and wrong directions.

Expect a certain amount of tension. Use that tension as energy to get yourself moving.

Different people have different styles of working. For example, some people need competition to do their best, while others work better at their own pace. Respect your work style and arrange the conditions you need to do well.

If you have a long, hard task, make it as comfortable for you as possible. Do it in short bits (but stay with it), do it wearing comfortable clothes, among friends, in familiar surroundings, with whatever you need to keep your spirits up while you work at it.

Pure, unadulterated motivation is rare (most of the time); you just have to keep plugging away.

If necessary, pause every now and then to remind yourself why you have chosen to take on certain work, what you expect to get out of it. Give yourself a pep talk.

When you've done something you feel good about, reward yourself with a treat: you deserve it!

Completed tasks keep interest and motivation at a higher level. Try to complete a task, accomplish a sub-goal, before you quit for the day.