February 18, 2013, by Shane

Motivation such an aggravation!

Deryck Whibley and his Sum 41 chums summed it up perfectly: Motivation, such an aggravation.

We live in a hectic, chaotic world where we are bombarded with information and looked upon to live up to certain expectations. University in particular is rapid, technology-driven and competitive. To flourish in this world we need lots of motivation.

We are expected to be  a multi-tasking, overachieving, down-to-earth, fun-loving, progressive generation thats going to change the world. University requirements: to be mini miracle workers. And to even attempt to live up to this, we need a whole lot of motivation.

• Motivation to acquire numerous work experiences and internships to impress our future employees and persuade them to offer us our dream job.
• Motivation to succeed in your course, both for yourself and so your parents can justify the ridiculous debt you are raking up while you’re here.
• Motivation to keep up a hobbie whether its a sport, involvement in the theatre or attending your weekly Quidditch match.
• Motivation to do some good in the world, whether its helping out a friend or volunteering in your local community.

And after all that, anyone who is not a first year will know, sometimes you need motivation just to go out, socialise and have a life rather than curling up on the sofa and hiding from the scary world.

The things we need motivation for are all valuable activities worthy of our time. Hard work leads to success, yet we also need to have fun and unwind otherwise we crash and burn, busted style. So we become performers, learning to juggle these crazy hectic lives.

Yet sometimes when you can’t see what you’re working towards or why you’re spending all your time in Hallward rather than Ocean or Crisis, you need a little motivation to keep you going. For this I present a pep talk from Kid President:

And if you’re a real overachiever, here’s a video to motivate you to a first class degree:

Now its easy to feel inspired and motivated after watching a short pep talk video; the trick is to somehow have consistent motivation even in the wee hours of revision, or when you’re most tired in the gym. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing hopefully you can see it as a stepping stone to something or somewhere that you will enjoy.

I believe the best way to get motivated is to enjoy what you are doing, to work at something you love and to enjoy the process. This way you’ll be more willing to work because you can see the results of your labour; the reward for your pain. But if you’re not enjoying whatever you are doing over an extended period of time, whats the point in doing it?

 

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