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Motivation - Inspiration - What Motivates YOU

MOTIVATION, INSPIRATION

ROUGH DRAFT

In my writing to solve problems I am going to attempt to solve the problem of a lack of motivation. Not only am I doing this for the sake of others struggling, but also for myself. I personally have a lot of experience with self motivation and drive. I somehow not only managed to get straight A's my junior year and almost straight A's all throughout high school but I graduated high-school in three years by having a double course load. How did I do it? Motivation.

     Now, as a Freshman in College I ask myself; Where did this motivation go? Why do I struggle so much trying to get started on a paper, or why is it so difficult for me to get on the Wiki and just write? I want to explore the concepts behind motivation, where it comes from and how we create it when it doesn't exist naturally. I think by doing this I will be able to help others and myself find what is going to be needed to get us through the next 4 years if you don't plan on going to Medical School as I do and 8-12 or more years for those on the Law School, Medical school track. 

     Do you ever find yourself thinking... Maybe, before getting on the Wiki. " I have to get on the wiki and write whether I like it or not, or I'm just so lazy, I can't wiki right now " Maybe you're just thinking, I really hate the wiki, I hate staring at the computer for hours, I hate English and I hate writing and I just want this class to be over. A little something that my parents taught me which could change the outlook of the world comes from a quote by an anonymous person. 

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look change." 

I am of course guilty of looking at things the wrong way, even on the Wiki. When things in life get hard, it's a struggle find what is important to you and what's not. As we spend our first year in college, many of us now living on our own, we discover new things about ourselves that we never knew before. I know for me it's been a struggle finding a balance between work and school. What I've begun to notice is that I have intrinsic motivation when it comes to doing things for work because I know I'm benefitting multiple people and helping a non-profit organization grow, but when it comes to school with these general education courses, I'm being thrown off on a path of unmotivation like I have never experienced before and before it gets out of hand I'm not only going to include personal experience but I'm going to attempt to find the scientific meaning behind it all. Why aren't I motivated? and if you're wondering why you're not motivated, read on as I attempt to understand why and with that, we can put motivation in our control. 

FINAL DRAFT :

MOTIVATION VERSUS INSPIRATION

Understanding the definition of motivation:

According to The Oxford Dictionary, Motivation is: "the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. The general desire or willingness of someone to do something."

High school and College are two entirely different ball games, my high school teachers used to warn me. But at the time I just shrugged my shoulders and said "it can't get more difficult than this." What they failed to warn me about is why college is such a harder feat than high school. Now, however, I see it first hand as my first semester of college comes to an end. I ask myself, why is college so much different from high school and why is it that so many students drop out before their Sophomore year. According to American College Testing (ACT), one in every four students leaves college before completing Sophomore year. What's more is that nearly half of all freshman will either drop out before getting their degree or complete their college education elsewhere. This statistic has many mind boggled as high school is a non stop stress about getting into college to begin with. High schoolers stress over standardized tests, visiting college campuses, writing brilliant college essays and then when many finally get in, they don't want to be there. Vincent Tinto, chair of the Higher Education Program at Syracuse University in New York and author of Leaving College: Rethinking the causes and Cures of Student Attrition (University of Chicago Press) says: "students devote so much time to the admissions process, they forget to focus on what lies ahead: challenging academics, living away from home, maintaining their finances, learning time management skills and taking responsibility for their own lives."

Check out this website for more information: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTR/is_4_22/ai_84599442/ 

6 REASONS FOR LEAVING AND ITS SURVIVAL STRATEGY:

1. TOO MUCH FUN- finally you're away from home and you want to party! You can get lulled into a false sense of security. After a couple weeks, you start to fall behind and you play catch up by pulling all nighters. Not everyone survives though and some end up dropping out & or failing.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Balance socializing and studying- put together a study group. studies show that students learn best in a group setting so make studying fun and productive.

2. NOT JOINING IN- some students aren't as social and find themselves going to the library alone or retreating back to their rooms. This can often lead to daydreaming about being home with a familiar routine and will throw students off because of feelings of loneliness and isolation.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Join in campus activities, but don't spread yourself too thin.

3. ACADEMICALLY UNPREPARED- High school came easy for a lot of us but as mentioned before, college is an entirely different ballgame. Success requires effective time management skills, and the idealization that you only have yourself to rely on. The 30 minutes spent studying for exams in high school doesn't cut it for college. 

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Ask for help. Professors are for the most part friendly fellows and can point you in the right direction for the help you may need. Not to mention, you'll develop a better relationship with your professor and see he or she as more of a mentor, rather than an obstacle. 

4. LOW ON FUNDS- Many drop outs are burdened by a lack of financial means and this becomes overwhelming. According to the ACT, this is the number 1 reason students cite for leaving school. To make the financial cut, many students work jobs but this can interfere with school time and lead to poor grades.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Remember that college graduates, on average make twice as much per year as those with a high school diploma according to the U.S census bureau and by staying in school you build contacts with friends and professors that you lead you to post graduate job opportunities. Research scholarships, grants and financial aid packages because there are several resources out there to help you get through school. If working is a necessity, work a part time job on campus so you can focus on school more than the job.

5. CHOSE THE WRONG MAJOR- Colleges expect us to choose our life direction at 17 or 18 and sometimes that can be hard.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Check undecided when applying to college. Most colleges don't expect students to declare a major until the middle of their sophomore year or beginning of their junior year and this way you can explore all your options by taking a range of different courses.

6. FIRST GENERATION STUDENT- if you're the first to go to college in your family it's hard to know what to expect. Many times these are minority students and the adjustment is hard.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Before applying to schools find our which ones have program for first-generation and/or minority students. "Ask not what you can do for your school, but what your school can do for you."

If you're wondering why you're not motivated, read on as I attempt to understand why and with that, we can put motivation in our control. 

What happens when the assignments are gone... ?

INSPIRATION VERSUS MOTIVATION:

" It could be said that nothing happens without inspiration. If that's true, then it stands to reason that the key to motivating ourselves and others lies in finding out what inspires us."

INSPIRATION IS BIGGER THAN MOTIVATION

"Instead of motivation look for inspiration. Inspiration comes from the same word as spirit. When you are inspired, the spirit moves you"

-Deepak Chopra

Inspiration motivates us. With inspiration, motivation is renewed.

INSPIRATION IS LASTING

"People often say that motivation doesn't last, Well neither does bathing... That's why we recommend it daily."

- Zig Ziglar

MOTIVATION: 

* more obvious

* more immediate

* less powerful

INSPIRATION:

* more drive

* more enduring

* long term

FEEDBACK:

Ehle- Unit 4 Rough Draft - aly's feedback to Ehle

Jasmyne's Unit 4 Blog - aly's feedback to jasmyne

Jenna's WTC research - aly's feedback to Jenna

FEEDBACK I'VE RECEIVED:

Ehle- Feedback to Unit 4 AlyB

Andrea Inman

Reflection

The process of creating my Unit 4 Portfolio has been really rewarding because it actually helped me to get back on my feet again after falling behind for a little while. Learning about motivation helped me to get motivated again.