Learning is not fun.
Learning may be rewarding, learning may open up new perspectives to the world, learning may be the key that allows us to pursue opportunities in our career or civic engagement.
But fun? No. Roller coasters are fun. Campfires are fun.
But say that learning is ‘fun’? That’s something used to keep elementary school students engaged long enough to the point where the real work of learning starts. Once the real work begins, attitude makes all the difference between success and failure.
Simply said, the right attitude towards study is the emotional state one has that allows her/him to persevere through the challenges of learning. The right attitude comes with all sorts of adjectives – positive, upbeat, energetic. All those are true.
But attitude is not static. Our attitudes ebb and flow as we negotiate our day to day lives. At any given moment, our attitude may be ‘right’, but other days seem to have our energy and optimism flag into the sense that academic (or career) success was meant for others.
Let’s take a look at some suggestions – less about what the right attitude is, and more about how to sustain that positive attitude when times get tough:
- Set the right goals.
The question one asks her/himself most often when times get tough is ‘why am I doing this?’ Having the correct long-term goals provide a helpful reminder that the efforts of today will pay off tomorrow.
The problem is that goal-setting that is too specific can run into the reality of the gifts we’ve been given, or gifts withheld.
Setting the goal to be a wide receiver for a professional football team may be a fool’s errand if gifted with the body type of an offensive lineman. On the other hand, the goal to become successful in the sports industry may be more sustainable over a long term.
So the need is to set a goal that speaks to some inner interest or drive, but is broad enough to allow different career paths to that end. That way, the long term goal stays real enough to fuel motivation, but broad enough to stay in sight regardless of the obstacles.
- Commit (but balance).
Any success is based on the right habits, habits that include consistent practice, the setting of stretch goals, and occasional rest.
Everyone is different. Some students study best in the late afternoon in silence; others prefer late night study with a playlist always within reach.
Like physical exercise, all that matters is consistency - ‘just do it’, to catch a phrase.
There is, however, a line between being committed, and being obsessed.
While commitment is the irreplaceable ingredient to success, obsession tends to blind one to everything else in life – blind not only the distractions which should be discarded, but also blind us to the important things that matter in life.
Academic or career success will be short lived for those who have ignored their physical and spiritual health, or discarded the lasting relationships which make life worth something more than a paycheck.
So, no matter how committed to a goal, we need to remember to regularly take the breaks necessary to allow us to maintain the healthy perspective which is critical for all of us.
- Pay attention to who is around us.
Many of us want to keep the friends we had from the neighborhood or high school all the way through college and beyond.
But paths diverge. Interests change. Circumstances leave people in different places at different points in time.
Even as new social circles develop, it is important to pay attention, not to the economic, racial, or social background of those we associate with, but to the character, sense of ethics, and morality of those with whom we share spare time.
There can be nothing more damaging to one’s prospects than ‘friends’ who convince a person that there are better things to do than meet one’s responsibilities as a student or worker, who suggest short-cuts to success by gaming the process, or who generally tug the potential student to some form of justified indolence.
But there is nothing that can be more useful than a cadre of friends who provide emotional support when things get tough, who may help by providing team-based study resources, or by helping celebrate the successes that ultimately accompany hard work.
We are the company we keep.
- Leave the critics behind, ourselves included.
When short term successes elude us, it is easy to fall into a habit of blaming others – the professor who doesn’t explain things well, the manager who ‘has it out’ for us, and sometimes, the family members and friends who didn’t believe in us.
There will always be lousy professors. There will always be managers who may not be feature material for LinkedIn.
And there will always be naysayers – maybe friends, maybe family members, who think that one just doesn’t have what it takes to succeed. There are many articles that provide guidance on how we should avoid such persons.
But it is also important to deal with those voices we sometimes have in our own head. Voices which introduce doubt, voices from the naysayer within.
That naysayer within is the often the most persistent obstacle we have to success. We always read about successful business persons and athletes who had to overcome self-doubt, but there are sparse details about how they did it.
A quick survey of the web (and some personal experience) leads to two important steps to deal with self-doubt:
Just stop listening.
It may sound trite, but when those negative thoughts start to creep into your mind, pull the plug on those thoughts immediately. Don’t continue to dwell on any suggestions of inadequacy or incompetence – just recognize those whispers for what they are, seeds of failure which come from some personal baggage that needs to be discarded.
Trust the better voice.
I mentioned earlier that we have all been gifted with talents and interests. And if we’ve selected goals or aspirations that line up with those gifts, then we’ve listened to the right voice that guides us to our own unique purpose. We all need to trust that voice, understanding that a commitment to apply our gifts in service to our company or society is the only meaningful choice to be made.
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The moral of the story – having a good attitude is one thing, but having the ability to preserve and nurture it in the face of inevitable setbacks is what makes the true difference between those who fade, and those who persevere to success.