How you can stay motivated leading up to Leaving Cert

IT can be a big challenge to stay motivated during the exam year.

Students will be under a lot of pressure over the coming months, often hearing criticism, being told they are not doing enough or working to their potential, reaffirming what a lot of students know themselves to be true when they are struggling under the workload of the Leaving Cert.

All of this is very difficult for students and can have a negative effect on not only their motivation but also their belief that they can persevere and achieve what they need in the exams.

Success is relative to each student who sits the exams. Some have identified a third level course that they are working towards. In many ways it’s a little easier for these students as they have a clear goal in mind and are motivated to work to achieve it. Others are still unsure of what they want to do and are trying to do the best they can to keep their options open.

More, however, are constantly worrying if they will even pass the exams and, given the stress they are experiencing, sometimes place very little value on the exams.

Every student will experience the time leading up to the exams differently, however there are some ways that they can maintain their level of self-belief and motivation throughout.

Positive Emotion

We naturally feel more negative emotion than positive emotion, especially during challenging times. It can be difficult to find the motivation to keep working hard when we are feeling frustrated and that we are not improving.

In order to stay focused we need to feel positive emotion there are a number of ways that positive emotion can be cultivated such as, praise.

Genuine praise and encouragement from trusted adults is hugely important for any young person facing a challenging time in their lives. For many students, a lot of the adults in their lives tell them that they are not working hard enough or that they need to do more.

However, the concept of “catching them being good” and acknowledging it, is shown to create positive emotion in people and instil a sense that they are capable and resilient.

Another way that motivation can be improved is through acknowledging achievement, no matter how small it is. Reflecting on improvements we make and allowing ourselves to feel good about these improvements even if they are small, increases the likelihood that we will keep working and keep trying our best to work towards a goal. So, when students understand a concept that they found difficult in the past or answered a question well, it’s important that they are encouraged to acknowledge this and feel a sense of achievement for the improvement they have made.

Reflecting on where you are right now

When working towards something like the Leaving Cert, students can often get caught up in their busy days of classes, homework, revision, grinds (for some) and exams.

Although the business of the next few months is often unavoidable, it’s still important to take the time to reflect on where you are in the present, to both acknowledge how far you have come as well as plan what you need to do to continue to make progress.

There are few questions that students should ask themselves from time to time which will help them stay focused and motivated. These are:

1. What do I know well? This question has two main benefits. The first is that it shows students how much they actually know already and secondly it focuses the mind away from what they already know to what they need to work on. This is important because all of have the tendency to focus on what we already know and what we are comfortable with which can impede our progress.

2. What do I not yet know well? This question allows students to look at the areas they need to focus on without being overly critical of themselves. The word, yet, is very important in this questions as it indicates that, although you might not know it well yet, you have the ability to change this over time.

3. Where do I need help? Sometimes when we don’t understand something it can be simply because we haven’t given the concept the time needed for us to understand it. However often we might need help and knowing the difference is very important. If you find something extremely difficult and are becoming frustrated by it might be time to ask for help.

4. Where / who can I go to for help? When we need help it’s important to get the right help so that we don’t become even more frustrated. Sometimes asking friends and family can be ok, however often it’s important to ask a teacher for help to ensure that you get the correct help in understanding what you find difficult.

Our belief in ourselves if one of the most important factors in our ability to succeed. There will be tines over the next few months when students will lose their confidence and self-belief, however there are ways to both notice when this happens and strategies to help to improve this.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alan White is a second level teacher, 6th Year Head, and wellbeing author at Bishop stown Community School. He also facilitates wellbeing workshops for companies and or ganisations. For more information, visit www.changeswellbeing.ie linkedin Alan White or Changes Wellbeing on Facebook.