This is the second of several parts on attitudes that will put more information in your brain and keep it there. These tips are meant to be applied in all areas of life, so that maximal learning happens on every front, not just the academic ones.

The first part of Intelligent Attitudes lists tips 1 and 2 and is well worth checking out. Feel free to read them in any order.

3) Find powerful reasons to learn

Simply, we should answer to ourselves: Why do I want to learn this? or Why is this worth remembering?

Tasks get accomplished faster and with more enjoyment when they have meaning or purpose. For the most part, I would hope that we could all have lofty and noble reasons for wanting to acquire information. Reasons such as learning purely for knowledge’s sake, intrinsic interest, or the hope to teach/benefit others later; even finding calm in the present moment can motivate one to study.

While these reasons may motivate us in a grander sense, I find they they may not permeate the present moment. Goals are only valuable to the extent that they affect us now. If the idea of teaching another is not exciting or powerful enough to motivate us to learn, then this idea is not useful. Often, it is other types of goals that drive our quest for knowledge.

Grades:
Learning in order to improve your GPA or ensure your future success, in graduate studies for example, can be a powerful motivator. It is a very measurable factor, thus making it easier to analyze objectively and quickly. You can see if you are improving, and by how much. (Although grades and amount learned are not always directly correlated.) While some say that grades are not important, it is hard to deny their blunt efficiency as a tool to compare and rank people. From this (and for other reasons I won’t get into), the grade point average can motivate.

Sex:
Sexual drive is an ancient desire that can elevate people to untold heights or bring the mighty to their knees. Leaders can are often made or broken because of sex. Some even argue that this one desire is responsible for all great societies. As a result, to have this as a motivator for learning is very effective.

Yet how can knowledge be sexy? Oh, in ways too numerous to count. Common interests can often spark a magical sort of first impression. Someone mentions their philosophy course, you ask about a philosopher they might have studied, and your friend is subtly impressed. One is perceived in a better light if they are knowledgeable about certain subjects; depending on the person such subjects can include fine arts, economics, neurobiology, Tupac’s greatest hits, Tupac’s underground stuff, literature, etc. Even flirting and sexual practices are varieties of knowledge. Of course, this is a bit of a simplification, but if you can find personal reasons why learning a fact will improve your sexual potential, in any way, that fact will be firmly entrenched in your mind.

Impress:
Related to the two above, there are cases in which specific knowledge can be impressive (or at least interesting). Cocktail parties were made so that people would have a place to talk about philosophy, among other things. People also love when you remember things about them, such as their favourite book, things about their family etc. Knowledge about a company or institution will come in useful during an interview to show that you are a thorough and intelligent person. Hell, even sports knowledge can impress your date’s father in that awkward time by the front door. Remembering that all knowledge will be impressive in the future can help one to memorize even the most detailed facts.

Fuel for creativity:
Oh man, this is one of the greatest discoveries of my life. The reason I advocate creative outputs, such as writing, is that your vast pool of knowledge comes pouring out in ways that you may not have thought possible. Wit and humour are often simply the retelling of known things in a novel way. When you have more knowledge to draw upon, you can make connections between pieces of knowledge faster, these new connections are the basis of creativity. Creativity is not limited to writing; scientific discovery benefits greatly from the same fuel. Great scientist Louis Pasteur said that “chance favors the prepared mind.” More knowledge about a subject will give one a larger platform from which to jump to creative solutions.

I’m always impressed with the crazy associations our minds can make. Try just going through a train of mental associations, just saying what pops into your mind after the word “coffee”. If you tried it, you notice that you can get pretty far away from coffee. All knowledge is just more fuel for future creativity, helping those a-ha! moments come more and more frequently.

I would say that I use all of these desires/goals regularly in my learning. Some more than others, but I’ll leave you to figure that out. One of the main factors that motivates all of my learning (from feminine hygiene products to philosophy of mind) is that I believe this knowledge will eventually have a use. I also believe that the process of learning is intrinsically valuable (a previous Intelligent Attitude [#2]).

Some may argue that we shouldn’t have such “shallow” goals direct our learning and activities; however, I have two counter-points to this. Firstly, there is great energy in these desires that is often hard to embrace through other means. Ideas that can bring this energy are tremendously powerful and should not be ignored because of cultural biases. We should embrace the desires that motivate us, in order to learn and achieve more.

Secondly, to call the above categories shallow seems like a random categorization when we think about what results from them. (The ends justify the means?) Let me give you some examples. An Olympic athlete trains everyday for his/her whole life simply to qualify. The only things that motivate the athlete are the ideas that he/she will have the world record and that their place in history will be assured. After many hard years and one event, this athlete places first, giving hope and pride to their country. Is the accomplishment of the athlete less significant?

Songwriters write songs to soon women and men (often in sexual ways). Are these songs less beautiful and moving for their underlying motivations?

No, I would argue. Sometimes people, myself definitely included, get caught up in judgement of other or themselves based on the view that certain desires are wrong or bad. Yet they are quick to devour the fruits of the labour from these desires. Some dismiss those who experiment day and night to the chagrin of their families, but applaud the discoveries and prizes. People with far-out interests can be ignored, but adored for creative insight. This list goes on.

What I’m getting at here is that we shouldn’t worry so much about what other people may think about our desires and goals. They should empower you, and it is you that will know if your underlying desires are “good” or not. So, remember to create goals and reasons that empower you to learn. Whatever your desires may be, if they motivate you, this makes them good.

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)

This will be the first of three (or four) parts on attitudes that will help you learn more in all areas of your life. Not only are these tips are useful in an academic sense, they are even more useful for learning as a whole.

1) Be humble in knowledge

No matter how much you know in about a subject, there is still always more to learn. There are so many different ways to view current paradigms, and theories are constantly in flux. It is very difficult to be sure that one has heard it all. If you believe you know everything, there is no room for education. Making mistakes is one of the best and fastest ways to learn. Yet when our minds are closed off because we think our knowledge is fixed, when we find out what we “know” is wrong, we just freeze. As the study in the link shows, what we believe can shape our brains.

I’m sure you have experienced this: you are so sure about some fact; let’s say that it’s about the capital of Australia, which you believe to be Sydney. You’ve known this for so long. They even had the 2000 Olympics there!

But then your friend tells you that Canberra is the capital. You flatly deny it. “No way, Sydney has so many people.” You even start to yell, “what are you talking about?!” After much flailing and harsh words, you will come to accept that Canberra is the true capital; only through the influence of the internet’s second greatest resource. This information could have been more easily learned without arrogance surrounding our opinions. In the cases where there is no other direct proof, I have been known to simply dismiss someone’s claim as completely erroneous, rather than check it out.

My father once told me that one of his most cherished lessons came in university. Initially, I didn’t realize its importance, but now I am beginning to see its power. “Be slow to form your opinions, and slower to say them.”

The amount of knowledge out there is frightening and thrilling. To say that you have enough information about a topic to warrent having a fixed opinion is quite reckless. I have been guilty of running my mouth on issues from abortion to the importance of pi. Yet with such limited knowledge, I was a fool for doing so.

What is it that can change one’s perspective from smug inflexibility to maluble humble pie? Simply more information, an understanding of perspective, and an open mind.

2) All steps towards learning are important (even small ones)

This is an intelligent attitude for a few subtle reasons. Firstly, it gets you to start working. Even if it’s only a little bit of work, a little bit is way better than none. Such a seemingly obvious statement becomes more practical when we consider how many times we’ve done the opposite. We hesitate to start studying because it is complicated. We don’t read a philosophy book or art magazine because we worry that we won’t get it.

However, if we read over the text and understand even a little bit more, we have gained a greater footing on the mountain that is knowledge. In skimming over that magazine, the ideas and vocabulary are subtly entering your brain. All of this information will be easier to recall if it comes up again, and it will give you a peg for new knowledge on this subject.

Similarly, one of the great writing tips out there to get your flow going is just to write anything. You can let yourself write the crappiest first draft ever, but just write. When you forget about perfection, you allow yourself to get into a rhythm; this is when your real creativity can shine. In a similar way, when you untangle yourself from perfectionism, you lose the essence of the knowledge

The last way of looking at it is somewhat like the paradox of the heap. While we can all agree that one grain of sand doesn’t make a heap. A heap of sand is just made up of single grains of sand. So when do grains of sand become a heap? Or when do isolated facts become a network of knowledge? Although this analogy is a little funny, you can see that in order to build this amazing network of information, you need to start (and continue) with single facts and relations.

So read that one extra page, watch that video that is hard to understand, keep going for one more minute. In doing so you’re preparing your mind for future planting and harvest. And anyways, learning that one extra fact is much better than feeling silly when that exact section is on your test.

I have found that one of the best ways to implement this is through timeboxing. Just give yourself a set amount of time (like 30 mins) to work on something, say an essay. You don’t even have to finish anything specific. Just work for that amount of time, and even if you think it’s the worst work ever, it’s not so bad that you can’t handle it for 30mins . This is a really powerful technique to just get you going. And the awesome thing is that once you are moving, often your momentum will carry you a lot farther than you expected.

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. “

— W.H. Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

As is the case with most posts, recently I have been noticing the theme of commitment coming up in my life. As such I wanted to share my views on it and hear some of yours.

Commitment is a driving force that can help us accomplish all the tasks before us. These tasks can include getting involved in extracurricularactivities, exercising, biochemistry labs or philosophy essays. Whatever they are, commitment will bring them to life.

What is so powerful about commitment? In one way, it leaves you with only the option to succeed. In burning your bridges, you know you must complete your duty, or perish. As much as one may not want to complete an essay, the alternative is a lot worse.

In committing, you give yourself a renewed energy. All of your energy becomes focused on your task rather than all the other possibilities.

I’m sure I don’t need to go on about the importance of commitment. The better question is: How can we commit ourselves?

I have a couple methods that work for me.

Tell people what you are doing

Recently, I wanted to contribute an essay to the Philosopher’s Cafe, a publication here at Queen’s University. Yet, initially I wasn’t sure if I was able to commit myself. I didn’t know if I had enough time, enough creativity, enough content. What I did have a lot of was bullshit excuses. (Pardon my language.)

In this case my commitment had to be externalized. So I told almost everyone that would listen that I was writing an essay for the Philosopher’s Cafe. I told my friends, my lab partners, my parents, even one professor. Sometimes I would find reasons to steer the conversation to this work, just so I could tell them about it.

It almost sounds a little crazy, but it works. Why?

It could be for many reasons: People will talk about it, and it will remind you to work on the essay. As well, since so many people know about it, you don’t want to disappoint them. You have your pride to remember. The idea of having even a few people read the essay, and like it, was also pretty exciting, and made me want to wow them. I’m sure you will have your own reasons for wanting to tell people.

However, I must give you a small warning. There are certain goals that you shouldn’t share with certain people. Some goals will make a certain person jealous, so don’t tell them. They won’t reflect the positivity that you are looking for, and may resent you for your efforts. As much as I’d like to see everyone as perfect, we aren’t, so these things happen.

Luckily, there are often at least one or two (if not more) people that will be happy about your endeavours. Tell them!

Of course we cannot just rely on others to motivate us, we have a role too.

Break down barriers and distractions

I’m sure I’ve talked about this before, but if something is in your way, don’t complain about it. Do something!

If you think you can’t commit to studying for 3 hours because your roommates keep talking, you can try asking them to let you study for a while, threaten them if necessary. You could move to the library, a basement, anywhere.

Sometimes, we have internal barriers that we need to break down. I often worry that my writing will not be helpful or intelligent or gramatically correct… so on and so forth. These worries can disappear if you talk to your friends or rationalize with yourself. Even if I help a few people, or one person, my work is having an impact on the world. Sometimes though, my justifications can be harsh: Although my writing is not always Pulitzer-worthy, there is a lot of writing out there of a much lower quality that probably has too many readers.

Sometimes we have to do what it takes to get us past those barriers and get the job done; hopefully, while keeping good conscience in mind.

There is something to be said about the sort of energy surrounding those who commit and those who don’t. Just go along with me for a bit. When one of your friends says that they are going to finish their lab report by 4PM, but you don’t believe them, there is usually a good reason. You know they aren’t committed to completing it. As a result, you will say that fake, “Oh, ok…” response, while thinking, “Yeah sure…” They are attracting negative energy from you and/or emitting it themselves. This sort of energy will prevent them from accomplishing their task.

In a less ethereal way of thinking, since you know that person is not committed, you are less likely to help them out, making them even less likely to complete their task. When your friend is committed though, you can sense that determination and you are willing to help them. In fact, many people may be willing to help them.

When you commit, you are more willing to complete your task, your friends and others are also more keen to help you. Sometimes even, seemingly random events will happen to help you accomplish this task. Whatever the mechanism, the first step is commitment, “… then Providence moves too.”

So maybe now is the time to get yourself to commit to those goals you’ve been wanting to accomplish. Use the infinite creativity that I know you have, and find ways to commit yourself. Heck, I’ll even help you out. If you want to tell me what you want to commit to, I’ll remind you of it, or we can talk about it.

I’d like you to read the quote that started the piece one more time; I’ll paste it here:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. “

— W.H. Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

Do what you must to get things done.

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)

Yesturday, I had the pleasure of leading a discussion on ‘how to live in the present moment’ with some lovely ladies at a Goal-Oriented Living Club meeting (you will find this post on the club’s website as well). This post covers the some salient points of the discussion (of those that I remembered or wrote down). And for your benefit has been slightly modified in order to make it more web- and reader-friendly.

---

Happiness is one of those goals for which everyone seeks. I’ve never yet met the person who does not genuinely want to be happy. However how are we to attain it? Often, it is said that one of the keys to happiness is living in the present moment. In fact, this teaching has roots that spread throughout time and religions. Two examples that are readily forthcoming are Zen Buddhism and Christianity.

The essence of Zen is to gain an appreciation for living moment-to-moment, to understand the “infinite moment”. Koans, such as “what is the sound of one hand clapping?”, are invoked in order to have one reflect deeply on these questions; this reflection becomes so deep that the meditator becomes fully engrossed in the moment, hopefully to reach enlightenment. More on meditation and Buddhism later.

The Beatitudes from the book of Matthew reveal a similar message:

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. […] Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Ideally, this sort of contentment would come as easily as breathing, would be as natural as growing; however, most of us are quickly distracted from the now by thoughts of the future and past. Yet surely there must be some way to tap into this power of the present moment.

This is where “flow” comes in.

(This term is not my own, reference available upon request, however it does describe what we will be dealing with for the next bit quite nicely.) Flow is what comes about when you are fully engaged in an activity: one that captures most, if not all, of your attention. Such examples include, playing/listening to music, exercising, doing crosswords, writing, cooking, dancing, meditating, the list goes on. Usually such an activity is enjoyable because it is challenging, while not being frustrating.

In engaging in activities that evoke flow, we hope to get in touch with the same awareness of now that monks engage in while meditating. Though it may not seem like it initially, there are concrete gains to be had from meditaion.

You may recall that there was scientific convention in 2003 where the Dalai Lama advocated (as he still does) the benefits of meditation and scientific inquiry into the same. Of course, research was done as well:

Last year Dr. Richard Davidson, director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin and a conference presenter, used an fMRI machine to map the brain of monk Matthieu Ricard.

While Ricard, a monk with over 30 years’ experience in contemplative practice, engaged in what Buddhists call compassion meditation, Davidson measured the activity in his brain. The pictures showed excessive activity in the left prefrontal cortex (just inside the forehead) of Ricard’s brain.

Generally people with happy temperaments exhibit a high ratio of activity in the left prefrontal cortex, an area associated with happiness, joy and enthusiasm. Those who are prone to anxiety, fear and depression exhibit a higher ratio of activity in the right prefrontal cortex.

But the degree to which the left side of Ricard’s brain lit up far surpassed 150 other subjects Davidson had measured. No one knows whether Ricard might have exhibited the same results before he became a monk. But given that his readings were off the chart for happiness, Richardson believes that studying the minds of meditating monks can help us learn how meditation can mold our brains to develop happier and less-afflicted temperaments.

(Source: Wired)

What am I getting at here? Our “flow” is one form of meditation that will allow us to access this type of happiness. Flow may allow us to rewire our brains for a higher basal level of happiness.

Before I jump into how we may make use of flow, as a side note I’d like to ask: Do goals push people from this present moment happiness by striving for a non-existent future?

I would say no. Although goals are set for a future point in time, your goals should enrich your present moment. In thinking about them and in the process of accomplishing them, you can more easily practice that flow. In a way, the goals mediate your entry into these present-moment-enriching activities. Further, your thoughts regarding your goals should enrich you right now; goals are not valuable if they only fulfill you once they are accomplished.

As a personal example, one of my goals is to have a beautifully crafted essay to submit to a philosophy magazine here at Queen’s University (by March 31). My pleasure will not only come about once I have completed this work, this essay engages me whenever I write or even think about it: this goal enriches my now.

It sounds so appealing for those activities that we do for recreation. Is there a way to get this flow into our work? To put a spin on that: Can we make our flow times more productive?

Definitely!

In the same way that we have found something within engaging activities to flow with, it is possible to find this type of attribute in our work. It is in the framing of the topic, or how we look at it.

Back to my philosophy essay example, some may view the essay as work, something to be dreaded over and to be procrastinated upon. However, the creativity that is allowed to me, the challenge that it brings, does not allow me to think of this essay in a negative light.

In a similar way, we may bring a fresh perspective to our work. It is possible to find something within your math project, history essay, biochemistry textbook, to engage you.

Ah, I can already hear the scoffing even across the vast expanse of the internet. Hold on for a second.

This comes a lot more smoothly once you open your mind to it. So you are asking: “how can I find flow in a subject as boring as biochemistry/history/whatever?” Maybe it will not come from the material itself, but from the process of reading and reviewing. In focusing purely on your text, you are bringing yourself to a different level of awareness. During a different activity, say playing music, try to notice how you feel while in that flow state then bring it to your work. It is something you have to experience to understand.

Another tip to help you get into this flow state (with work or with anything): Remember that all work you do is productive. Don’t worry about doing a perfect job right away.

Initially, do what you want, when you can, how you can. Don’t worry about not completing enough or every little thing. In thinking about all these other things you are detracting from the essence of what you are doing, you are losing the flow.

Just get in there. You can work about perfection later. If you have given yourself enough time you can tweak things afterwards: edit the introduction, review a section, practice measures 17-24, etc. And you will have enough time.

Why am I so confident that you will have enough time? Usually you don’t have enough time because you delay on starting it. Why do you delay? Generally, because you are worried you will (a) not do a perfect job or (b) you hate it. If you start with small expectations and by doing the parts you like initially, you will start to get into it (”the appetite comes with eating”), and you will do much more than you thought possible, even while enjoying it!

So try it! Seriously. This mentality is tremendously productive and fulfilling. If you have some questions or comments about it, feel free to email me or comment below and we can jive.

(One of the comments that I received before this post was that I didn’t elaborate on how one can integrate this flow theory into practice. I tried doing that in this post; yet if you feel that it is still lacking, email me and I’ll see what I can do. I find in most posts like these - mine and other’s - that showing it’s practice is the part that always needs the most elaboration.)

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)

One way to gain control of your own life and to empower yourself to achieve successful living is by treating your life and everything about it like a business. A lot of people, myself included, spend a large portion of their time on activities that yield no value. For example: Every time I watch TV, I’m really not learning anything and although I’m entertained, I’ve extracted zero long-term value out of that 2 hours of Jack Bauer ripping into necks and breaking heads. Businesses don’t make money when they spend their time on things that don’t add value.

All new businesses start off in a mess, with zero controls and poor management, but with great ideas. Similarly, people in general want to lose 20 lbs, they want to start running 5 km everyday and they want to be at the top of their class, but sadly most people don’t really know where to start or they simply lack the drive. Any business has four functions: operations, marketing, financials and human resources. Success in every element is crucial to the longevity and ultimately financial upside of any business.

Operations:
The fundamental element of any business as well as personal success.
· Think about time: A normal week has 168 hours. Assuming you sleep 8 hours a day. That leaves 112 awake hours. Now assume you need to eat and groom. Being extremely generous, lets say it takes 2 hours a day, which equals 14. Which leaves 98 awake hours. If you’re an arts student you’re in class 20 hours a week. That leaves 78 hours. If you’re an engineering student or working you’re doing that for 40 hours a week. That leaves 58 hours a week to do learn something new.

· The point is that you have so much free time you can work another job or go to another school. This is all money making time, single moms know it, so should you.

· Adding Value: If you’re not spending time making money, you should be spending time on activities that yield money or other returns (wink wink, nudge nudge). So you analyze your week and realize you spend 2 hours riding a bus everyday. Go to your library and take out some books and read for those two hours while riding it. You run everyday for 30 minutes or drive? Get some audio books.

Taking out the trash: Stop doing activities that don’t add value. Stop watching tv, stop playing video games and stop wasting time. Instead of watching tv learn to play an instrument, instead of playing video games, play some real games outside and get some exercise. Instead of wasting time use it.

Stay tuned for all other functional areas of business.

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)

… Almost.

More and more, just from experience and from learning about cognitive psychology, I’ve found that we can remember much more that we thought. Even seemingly lost facts, places, faces, etc. can be found.

How can we perform such amazing feats? Through associative memory. (Those of you with some psychology background may not be too surprised.) In fact, this post is inspired by one cognitive neuroscientist who won $500,000 on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (A highly recommended read.)

The thing here is that while some people may have heard this before, it is something else completely to understand and apply this. Personally, I use 3 methods for extracting factoids from my head.

Think about:

1. Related words/ideas
2. the Situation you were in when you learned it
3. Insane, random ideas

So for related ideas, if you are trying to remember the name of a perfume, think about a bunch of other perfumes or people that advertise them. I was trying to remember the type of perfume that my mom likes: Hmm, what was it? Not Channel No. 5. What person? Jennifer Lopez? Hell no. Elizabeth Taylor. Got it, White Diamonds!

Maybe that example was too metrosexual for you, maybe these other ones will make more sense.

For situational memory (or episodic memory), sometimes smelling something like a musty basement can bring back a flood of memories about playing table tennis oh-so-many years ago. In the same way, sometimes remembering where you were in the hallway in front of a washroom, when your friend mentioned magic mushrooms, the chemical muscarine (one chemical in some “magic mushrooms”) and your over-excited/under-clothed friend, can bring back memories that will help you on a pharmacology exam.

Frankly, when I’m really stuck, I like thinking of really insane, random things. If you have extra time during a test or anytime in life, I recommend this; it gets your brain moving in on a totally new path, which can get you out of that mental rut.

I’m going to use one of my dreams as an example, because I know people are getting a little tired of my arcane life sciences examples.

I had a dream last night, but when I woke up I only had the “feeling of a dream” left. Since I wanted to remember the dream, I stayed positive (important for letting those thoughts come back) and started looking around my room for associations. I looked at my headphones, and thought about a memory program I was listening to. Then I thought about books: from this I got a strong feeling that a book or books were important. Then I looked at the books in my room and saw one about the Korean language—suddenly I remembered my whole dream. (If you’re that curious as to what it was, you can ask in the comments.)

To get some free associations (to start the brain cascade), I don’t just look around wherever I am; sometimes I use a preset A-Z list of items (a peg list), body parts, random songs. It doesn’t actually matter what you choose, as long as you create some associations, and you go along with those that pull at your intuition.

I’m not saying that you will remember everything with this sort of thinking. If you are confident in yourself and your brain, however, you will remember a lot more than you previously thought possible.

Try it! Seriously! Try to connect “string” to your past, and just go with it. Appreciate all the rich associations that you make, and you’ll begin to appreciate what sorts of connections you are capable of. Inside of those connections and associations is an insanely large amount of information.

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)

For the longest time, I was always fascinated in how things work and the little intricacies of life’s puzzles. That fascination developed into a burning desire to learn and excel in my academic life. I’d read hundreds of books before I turned the age of 6. That continued into my adolescent life right up until the end of high school where my self-motivation and desire to do much of anything peaked and then came crashing down like 747. After that, it took me about 2 years to get back to where I once was, and here I am today.

My theory is that personal growth is rooted in two things: Accountability and Independence

If you want to start to get out of whatever rut you’re in, you need to get those two things.

Accountability - what is it, and where can I get some?

What it is:

It is the simple concept of taking. Taking control of your life, taking what belongs to you and taking every and all opportunities available to you. It is taking responsibility for your actions and reaching a level of maturity that accepts and faces the consequences of said actions. A person who doesn’t run from negative consequences is a person who is accountable. If you only take the positive and do not take the negative, then you are not accountable, you are a coward.

Gettin’ Some:

• Make a conscious effort to be accountable. Think it. Believe it. Do it.
• Do not blame others, no matter what. Even if it appears to be some one else’s problem and you are affected, you, in almost every circumstance, can do something about it.
  • Ex: Roommate pissing you off? Leave. Talk to the person. Move out.
  • Ex: Not liking school? Stop going. Change Programs. Find something you love.
• Internalize every aspect of your life. You and only you have the ultimate control on what direction your life heads into.
• Grow a pair. Face your fears. I believe someone said, there’s nothing greater to fear but fear itself.

Independence -

What it is:
It is solitude. Being alone. Being NOT DEPENDENT. Yes, I realize you, me and everyone else understands the definition of independence, but few and far between experience it. True independence is when your reliance on others is minimal or nonexistent.

Gettin’ Some:

• Lose some friends. Face it, some friends you have are useless. Cut them out.
• Rely on no one. Until you can satisfactory say, “I am happy. I can survive by myself.” You should not be dependent on others, especially if you can’t even depend on yourself.
• Do it yourself. Stop seeking help, do it yourself for a change, learn something.
  

Those are the things a person has to do to truly grow. Obviously, I’m no suggesting blaming yourself for everything, but you should definitely seek your own faults before you seek others. Since you’re reading this website, I was presume you’ve probably experience to some degree accountability or independence, but I challenge you to push it to further boundaries and achieving greater goals.

Personal growth is not like Christianity, you can’t pay lip service every Sunday and expect results. You gotta be like a Mormon, go out there, believe it, breathe it, be it, and convert some heathens.

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)

Who cares the most about where you end up in life? Whose responsibility is it that you find your direction?

I hope you can see where this is going. Only you have responsibility to find and choose your direction in life. Without getting into philosophy, all the choices you make in life are yours.

So what are you going to do with your life? What’s up with your undergraduate degree? It’s ok if you don’t know what you are going to do right now. Most people don’t. Some people think they know, but have just been programmed by society, their parents, infomercials, etc.

It is your responsibility to actively search for what you are interested in. (Re)assess your path, find out if it reflects who you really are. If you can’t tell, investigate.

I’ll use myself as an example, because I’m always around me.

I am currently on a path to enter medical school. Frankly though, I do not know if this is the right profession for me. For a while, I just bitched to other people about how I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was sort of complacent, and useless about it.

As a side note: My friends must be pretty tolerant, because this sort of stuff would annoy me after awhile.

Eventually, I started doing something about it.

The first stage was “soul-searching”. I looked at my interests; looked at my beliefs about life; and I even bought a book called “Do what you are” - it assesses your personality type and shows jobs/fields that you may be suited for. If you know me, you can borrow it if you’d like.

That moved me somewhere. I gained a better understanding of myself, but I still wasn’t getting what I was looking for. Inspired by Ian Yberra’s blog, I found that I needed to find out more about my potential career in order to give it a fair assessment.

The next stage is what I am in now: Researching my options.

I started this by talking to one of the career services’ counselors at Queen’s University. She gave me some inspiration to investigate the medical profession further. I’ve just looked through a book called “So You Want to Be a Brain Surgeon?” And soon I will start contacting some doctors to find out what the profession is truly like.

I’ll update you as that progresses, I may even post some interviews.

Frankly, I’m going steal this quote straight from Ian Yberra: It is ok not to know what you want to do, it is not ok not to do anything about it.

If you are like me, which I assume you must be a little true because you are still reading this, you may be confused about your options. Go out there and investigate. I promise people will be nice to you, since you are taking an interest in their lives and treating them like an expert. If they aren’t nice, I’ll join you in TPing their house.

Get out there and investigate your options! This is your life we are talking about! Go!!

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)

Recently, I’ve been noticing that we have become obsessed with the complexity of life. In order to eat more healthily, we have to follow some fancy diet. In order to discuss an issue properly we must use confusing language and a pedantic structure. By the way, I do see the irony of choosing such a complicated word.

Yet, people used to – and continue to – use very simplistic guidelines to dictate their eating habits; these people have lived very healthy lives. The most effective discussions and arguments are those where both parties fully understand each other.

Furthermore, in trying to do perform a task, like running or golfing for instance, the best athletes of these worlds do not break down each aspect of their stride or swing into its components while performing. It would just ruin everything.

There’s something very Zen about this way of thinking. “Be the golf ball. Be the shoe.”

If you have to think about too many things at once, you aren’t giving the overall task the attention it deserves.

In the same way, education — or any type of learning for that matter — does not need to be difficult or overly complicated. The methods that work are the ones that are the simplest.

Let me ask you a question: What does the ideal student do?

Seriously think about it. What does the ideal student do?

I can only speak for myself, but I’m going to assume you said something like:

• They study well before a test comes.
• They don’t get drunk a day before their exam.
• They complete their assignments on time.
• They use their time effectively for studying.
• They attend class.
• They pay attention.
• They have opened their textbook for the purpose of reading it.

There is nothing complicated on this list. Yet you may or may not be surprised at how many people do not do these simple things. I’m not going to say that they are all easy to do, but they are definitely not hard to understand.

I was chatting with a friend of mine, whom I would say does extremely well in school - while still having an active social life and an attractive girlfriend. He was mentioning that he doesn’t do anything crazy to study for his tests. He devotes a lot of time to his studies; takes notes; reviews them; and takes breaks when he needs to.

By the way, if you are thinking something like: “Oh he’s probably really smart, but I can’t do that.” Let’s consider two things:
1) If you are smart and you don’t do anything for a test, will you do as well as you could have? Definitely not. It is possible for smart people to screw things up. I have seen it too many times. I’m guessing you’ve seen it too.
2) If you don’t think yourself intelligent (which I disagree with, BTW), won’t a concerted effort help to improve your grade? Definitely.

If you study more, you will do better than if you don’t. That’s it. Simple.

If a technique is not working for you, drop it. (Hint: Don’t watch TV while studying.)

Before you concentrate on awkward techniques and quick & easy methods, remember simplicity. It works much better and doesn’t clutter up your mind. When live seems to be really complicated, take a step back and reflect. It’s all gravy from the outside looking in.

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)

As people make the transition from high school to university they find that many aspects of their lives and mindsets change. A newly discovered freedom – or at least awareness – causes people to reassess what they know to be true or good.

Naturally, this leads to a lot of experimentation. In university such experiments may involve alcohol, drugs, sexuality, social interaction, physical activity and much, much more.

While I will neither condone nor oppose these types of experimentation, I think that people must come into their own perspective in their own way. Might I suggest one more – oft overlooked – area of experimentation? The way you learn.

This is the perfect time to experiment with your learning. Right now, we are still relatively young. Even if you are not, there is a comparatively small time investment needed in order to improve the way you learn. Think about it: if you spent one year trying out new learning techniques – honing in on what suits you the best – then even if you only live ten more years (definitely more though), you will have ten more years of improved learning. Relating this back to Monday’s post, it would be a very solid investment.

In finding out the nature of the way you gain knowledge you can increase the speed and ease of your learning. Taking in information will become less of a chore and more of an incidental process – or better yet, it will become fun.

I would recommend reflecting on all the areas and ways in which you learn. However, to get the ball rolling, I’ll give you some examples:

In-class note taking

How do you take notes in class? Do you write down everything? A lot of professors tell me not to, but then it seems like I’m missing something from my notes when I come back to them. There’s a line between expediency and deficiency. Work to find what works or what doesn’t work for you.

As well, have you ever tried previewing the material before class or reviewing afterwards? I must say it’s really helpful. Even if you don’t fully grasp the material at the time, you’ll find that even the mention of something vaguely familiar during the lecture will boost your confidence and increase your attention span.

I have already written a post describing Note Taking Tips (in class).

Listening to music
I’ve heard many arguments from both sides, so I’m hesitant to render a verdict for either. I’ll give you what I know, and what works for me.

Some people say that studying with music allows them to keep focused longer and keep a nice tempo going to their work. Some people say it energizes them. There was even a system, popular in the mid-1980s, called Super Learning [new window] that taught that people learned best while listening to 60 beat-per-minute Baroque music.

On the other hand, personally I’ve found music to be too distracting. I always want to start singing along, drumming things, etc. I’ve had a few teachers say that music can be distracting, but I usually take their advice with a grain of salt. A while ago, my friend mentioned a study done where participants learned some material with and without music. The variable was the level of musical competence of the subjects. Can you guess who learned better with or without music?

Well, I guessed wrong. Actually, the people with a higher level of musical competence actually learned more poorly when they listened to music. This makes sense, because their brain would become more active in the “musical areas” of the brain; taking focus away from the studied material. (I believe Jenna told me this, so if you are reading this and I have misquoted you or the study, go ahead and correct me.)

However, I have to mention that I have been listening to music on an off while writing this post…

Study Groups

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this already. Many people find that study groups help them by bringing people together to teach and learn the material. I find that teaching others helps to solidify the material in my mind. When you actually have to explain something, you have to have a higher and more complex level of knowledge about the subject. Personally, I don’t like study groups because I’ve found that we get too easily distracted and start talking about the Nintendo Wii or shoes. Try it out for yourself!

And more!

I have written other posts regarding the following things you should try experimenting with:

• Memorization techniques – This is probably one of the most valuable techniques you will learn.
• Environment – You may want to incorporate things that help you learn, calm you or provide motivation.

By the way, you should also try to expand this philosophy to other aspects of your life. A change in diet can change your energy levels and even the way you think. An occasional reassessment of your personal beliefs can also bring about lasting positive change in your life.

Keep your experimentation positive and you can’t go wrong. Without change there cannot be growth; growth is the key to life. So get growing!

---

If you enjoyed these learning tips and motivational strategies, maybe you’ll enjoy the other posts. Please bookmark this page (Ctrl-D) or check out the archive/categories to the right. Better yet, tell a friend! (Click the envelope below this.)