There are times in every student’s life when there is an inexplicable apathy. You don’t want to do anything, not just study, but to take any steps at all. In this state of mind, you have no strength or desire to change anything in yourself or the world around you. Or there is not enough knowledge of how to do it.
This state is called the “plateau effect”. The signs are:
• boredom and frustration;
• a cessation of development;
• a sense of wasted time;
• loss of confidence;
• loss of motivation.
Motivation – the intention that prompts action; the internal processes that control a person’s actions.
Why do you lose motivation to study
The hardest part is not finding motivation, but keeping it for the long term. Often a momentary jolt, an event, is enough to motivate yourself to turn an idea into reality. But just as quickly the motivation fades away. Consider the reasons for this change in attitude towards learning.
• Lack of understanding of the importance of the knowledge gained. Students often find that after 3-6 months of study they start to wonder if they have chosen the right course of study and why they need certain subjects in higher education.
• Relationship with a teacher or lecturer. The dislike of the teacher may be a factor that makes you less motivated to study a subject.
• Lack of or excessive communication. Lack of communication with fellow students voids the desire to attend the institution, while in case of too much it becomes the main goal, shifting the learner’s focus.
• Learning slippage. Missing classes may lead to a lack of understanding of the topic, anger, confusion, and a desire to learn. Often such students wonder who can write my essay, so they turn to essayassistant.net to get a good grade.
• A lack or excess of praise. Praise motivates you to keep going. But too much of it often tastes unsatisfying and has a negative effect.
• Self-control. Formation of self-control is laid as early as the school years. It is one of the most important skills for a student. A lack of self-control leads to the fact that studies are neglected.
• Self-evaluation. Self-esteem is underestimated if you fail, which leads to a lack of confidence in your abilities and a loss of motivation.
• Focus. The attention of the pupil is not always able to concentrate on the necessary goals, it is often dispersed on more insignificant objects.
• Guidance. Having goals does not imply strong motivation if there is no knowledge and certainty about what the next step should be.
How to find the motivation to study
Motivation is an everyday part of human life. It accompanies every action, activity. For example, going to the pharmacy and taking medicine is motivated by the desire to get well. The combination of different types of motivation helps to make life active, colorful, and move from goal to goal. With the right motivation, you can achieve anything. There are many ways to regain lost motivation to study.
Set a goal
The first thing to do is to prioritize and set the desired goal. To do this, you need to answer the questions yourself:
• what do I want?
• what is the profession that appeals to me?
• what will the chosen profession give me?
• what subjects do I have to study more about?
Based on the answers to these questions, you should make a plan of action for the near future. It may be done by taking a piece of paper and mapping out the path from the goal to the current state of affairs in reverse order. This makes the goal more realistic to achieve, as well as specific activities. In the process of creating the diagram, individual points can be identified that will make the goal more interesting.
One of the visual representations of assigned goals and motivators, on the way to them, can be a wish map.
Find interesting things in everything
Broadening your mind is a great way to regain your motivation to learn. Every subject, every field of study has a unique element that interests you. You just have to go deeper and find the common ground. Finding something interesting provokes personal growth, improves erudition, and widens your social circle. Become an active student, get involved with an organization, and new opportunities will open up for you.
Learn together with someone
Learning together is mutual support for achieving a goal. On the internet, you can find various forums of like-minded people, tips, and examples of those who have already achieved the same goal.
Learning in a group develops a competitive spirit and helps to increase motivation to learn.
Encourage yourself
Every successful step should be recognized and rewarded. You should reward yourself for successfully passing a test, for making progress in a particular subject. You can set up a system of rewards for certain results on the way to the goal. This will serve as an additional motivation.
Make a timetable for your lessons
Structure and discipline must be maintained throughout. A timetable builds self-control in the student. A timetable helps you plan your activities for the day, taking into account the time you need for your lessons, not at the expense of them. With a timetable, it is easier to identify and calculate how much learning can be done and in how much time. Where to increase the intensity of the workload, and where to loosen the reins. Certainty and clarity of action give confidence and the right motivation to learn.
Eliminate distractions
The human brain is not as multitasking as is commonly thought. When there is too much information of all kinds, there can be a stupor in which the human brain is at a loss. In such cases, you must channel your energy into a specific activity, focus your attention on one thing and eliminate distractions. Do not overload yourself with the knowledge that is not needed at this stage.
Other ways
It is necessary to think about the consequences of actions in the long term. Sometimes the decisions that seem best to us now turn out to be not so advantageous later on. It is better to choose the one that will lead to a better result in the future.
From time to time, one should pause and give oneself a rest. Thus, overloading the information “from the cache to the hard drive” of the brain.
Looking at a situation from the outside is always helpful. There is often a big difference between a personal view of the situation and an outsider’s view. An objective perception will help to make sense of non-existent, contrived problems and increase motivation.