How to Find the Motivation for School 💪

Hey y’all,

Before we jump into this week’s newsletter, I want to update you on my Notion template! I’ve been getting tons of comments and DMs asking about the launch date.

So here’s the truth: the template is done, but I’ve been spending way too long trying to make the landing page look aesthetically pleasing. I think I’ll forget the landing page for now and launch to those on the waitlist by next week.

(And then I’ll do a more public launch once the landing page is ready.)

Alright, so this week we’re talking about motivation. I’m going to start by telling you what motivated me during high school, and then I’ll dive into concrete tips that you use to find that spark of motivation for yourself.

What Motivated Me

Contrary to popular belief, my parents didn’t force me to do well in school. That’s not to say they didn’t care about my grades—they did, but they weren’t your typical tiger parents who obsess over every individual grade.

My motivation for school was more intrinsic. While I don’t know the exact reason I was motivated to do well in school, I believe it was a mix of curiosity and competitiveness.

Part of me has always loved learning since a young age. For example, I remember having a weird fascination with chemistry in second grade. While I barely knew what a molecule was, I for some reason loved the idea of mixing chemicals together to create new ones (lol).

This curiosity eventually transcended both topic and time, as I eventually found myself infatuated with biology and then math and then computer science by the time I entered high school.

(If you want a deeper dive into my lore, subscribe to Khan Squared. My brother and I are dropping our first episode soon!)

While an innate desire to learn was probably my biggest motivation, I can’t ignore my competitive side. As many of you know by now, I entered high school with the singular goal of becoming valedictorian.

This goal was a bit irrational, especially since being #1 doesn’t give you a distinct edge in the admissions process. All top colleges really want to see is that you’ve taken the hardest classes available to you and done well in them. If you end up anywhere in the top 10%, you’re usually golden.

But alas, for some reason I wanted that title… which I guess was a good thing because it fueled my motivation during high school.

How to Motivate Yourself

I’m going to start with some high-level takeaways based on the anecdote above and then dive into more specific tips.

Find Your Why

For me, that was becoming valedictorian and getting into a school with generous need-based aid. For you, that might be getting into a specific college or pursuing a certain career path. In those moments when you’re feeling unmotivated, having a north star—a vision that you can live up to—can often be a great source of motivation.

For example, to motivate yourself to go to the gym, you probably envision how you’ll look months of even years from now. Do the same for school. Imagine where you’ll be on your graduation day. Or better yet, just imagine where you want to be at the end of the school year. What do you want your grades to be? How do you want your resume to look?

Understand that achieving this vision requires consistency even on days when you don’t feel like putting in the work.

Motivation Follows Action

Motivation follows action, not vice versa. In other words, you’ll often find motivation once you get going. Those first few minutes of an assignment might feel brutal, but often it takes time for us to get into the right mindset for work.

This holds true for almost any task. For example, I know that once I finish this newsletter, I’m going to have to spend a few hours shooting B-roll for my upcoming video. Do I feel motivated to film B-roll? No. Not at all. In fact, shooting B-roll is one of the most time-intensive parts of making a video.

But I know that once I finish filming those first two or three shots, I’ll find the motivation to follow through and finish the rest. This is what happened last time and the time before that—and I know it’s exactly what’ll happen today.

Look Beyond the Immediate Benefits

Yes, studying for an exam is going to help you get a good grade. But take a step back and observe the other benefits:

• You’re going to build resilience and mental endurance.

• You’re going to enhance your long-term memory and recall abilities.

• You’re going to become a more knowledgeable and informed individual.

Oh and also… you’re going to explore cutting-edge ideas that took centuries to develop. You’ll grasp in weeks what brilliant minds spent lifetimes uncovering.

Recontextualizing why you study (and what you study) can often help you find an affinity for the task and boost your intrinsic motivation.

What did you think about this newsletter? DM me on Instagram (@goharsguide) to let me know!

If you want study help, come join my Discord! We have a global community of students helping each other succeed in school. I’d love to see you there.

And if you need help with college essays, check out Next Admit! We have a team of Ivy League consultants eager to help you navigate the admissions process.

I’ll see you next week!

Best,
Gohar