It’s that time of the year again. That time when all of the motivation you had at the beginning of the school year is starting to wear off. That time when assignments are piling up and procrastination is increasing, when you realize that nothing has changed from last year. That time when the stress is becoming noticeable.
You may be asking yourself if there is a point in even trying to succeed. Maybe you’re convinced that it’s impossible to get a decent grade because your English teacher marks too harshly. What’s the point in trying to produce good work when you’ll probably forget about it in a few months? Why should you even try to learn when you will probably never use it in the “real world”. Well, I am here to tell you that it’s not exactly about what you do, but more about how and why you do it.
It’s easy to complete work that is of a mediocre quality, not to the best of your ability. But what is the point in settling for inadequacy? What are you learning this way? The way you work now is how you will be working in the future. The way you deal with problems now is the way you will deal with problems down the road. You might as well set yourself up for success early on. What is important is that you do your best. This will be different for every person. What “your best” is will even change for you; doing your best when you are sick versus when you are healthy will look completely different. It is this mindset for constant improvement that is significant in life. It’s true that the assignment that you are currently stressing about may be forgotten soon, but it’s the effort that you put in that will end up being the most important in the long run. This can apply to anything that you do.
Sure, it’s possible that outside of the classroom you will never use the math you are learning. The mark you get on a project may not matter at all. It’s not about the actual material you are taught. The most important things are learnt during the “journey”. Think about it: have you ever been taught how to work with other people? Probably not. You were probably put with other people and you all had to work together to create a project. Maybe you barely knew these people. Maybe you didn’t like these people. Even though you may have forgotten what the project was about, what stays is the skills you learned while collaborating with others. This is much easier and more effective when you are willing to do your best.
I hope that this has maybe motivated you for at least a short while. Good luck!
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