Lack of motivation - a "burnt out" concept.

[cdm3413]

I suppose what I'm looking for by posting is this is to see how one keeps their motivation up. I definitely feel like the #1 reason why intelligent people fail is due to lack of motivation - that is, in our case, either they're burnt out by a pre-med program, or didn't have any motivation to begin with. I realize that there will be really verbose answers somewhere in this thread along the lines, "If you don't have motivation now, med-school is the true test.. etc", mhm, yes I know, thank you; however, my concern is that I've had motivation in the past - a lot. Now, over issues that don't necessarily regard school, my motivation has plummeted and I find myself struggling to rise it.

I suppose relevant feedback to this post would be: personal stories regarding motivation, or lack thereof, or perhaps some genuine advice.

I would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks, and Happy Easter to some of us.

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[kcin]

I suppose what I'm looking for by posting is this is to see how one keeps their motivation up. I definitely feel like the #1 reason why intelligent people fail is due to lack of motivation - that is, in our case, either they're burnt out by a pre-med program, or didn't have any motivation to begin with. I realize that there will be really verbose answers somewhere in this thread along the lines, "If you don't have motivation now, med-school is the true test.. etc", mhm, yes I know, thank you; however, my concern is that I've had motivation in the past - a lot. Now, over issues that don't necessarily regard school, my motivation has plummeted and I find myself struggling to rise it.

I suppose relevant feedback to this post would be: personal stories regarding motivation, or lack thereof, or perhaps some genuine advice.

I would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks, and Happy Easter to some of us.

Well, once you finish undergrad and get into your first year of medical school, your burgeoning debt should provide all the motivation you need.

 

[estradiol9]

I suppose what I'm looking for by posting is this is to see how one keeps their motivation up. I definitely feel like the #1 reason why intelligent people fail is due to lack of motivation - that is, in our case, either they're burnt out by a pre-med program, or didn't have any motivation to begin with. I realize that there will be really verbose answers somewhere in this thread along the lines, "If you don't have motivation now, med-school is the true test.. etc", mhm, yes I know, thank you; however, my concern is that I've had motivation in the past - a lot. Now, over issues that don't necessarily regard school, my motivation has plummeted and I find myself struggling to rise it.

I suppose relevant feedback to this post would be: personal stories regarding motivation, or lack thereof, or perhaps some genuine advice.

I would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks, and Happy Easter to some of us.

Things that motivate me:

-Looking at my old classmates, friends, ex boyfriends that decided to go some other route and are unhappy or just became total epic fails altogether. Life's greatest comfort is being able to look over your shoulder and see people worse off, waiting in line behind you.
-Watching House (LOL)
-Shadowing a doctor. I guess this is almost like a reminder of why you want to get involved in medicine.
-Having some time off to be lazy, rest, and regain momentum so to speak.

 

[IcemanMD]

This should satiate your need for motivation. You would be surprised how many people on here are depressed all the time.

 

[CaliGirl14]

Cars. I look at cars.

 

[Journey2become]

I suppose what I'm looking for by posting is this is to see how one keeps their motivation up. I definitely feel like the #1 reason why intelligent people fail is due to lack of motivation - that is, in our case, either they're burnt out by a pre-med program, or didn't have any motivation to begin with. I realize that there will be really verbose answers somewhere in this thread along the lines, "If you don't have motivation now, med-school is the true test.. etc", mhm, yes I know, thank you; however, my concern is that I've had motivation in the past - a lot. Now, over issues that don't necessarily regard school, my motivation has plummeted and I find myself struggling to rise it.

I suppose relevant feedback to this post would be: personal stories regarding motivation, or lack thereof, or perhaps some genuine advice.

I would appreciate any feedback.
Thanks, and Happy Easter to some of us.

I remember one such decrease in motivation during my pre-med years. It might sound crazy, but shadowing helped me regain motivation. I feel like I was jumping though different pre-med hoops and I was starting to loose sight of the end result. Being able to go in and interview patients before the doctor came in, having (very rudimentary) diagnosing skills, and talking to someone that is on the other side of the journey really make me enthusiastic about facing the next decade.
Other things that can impact motivation would be weather, lack of physical activity, only studying, or relationships (if they are going well you wonder about the future, if they are not going well...well that's self explanatory). Except for the weather, the other factors are about balance.

 

[slatermd]

Things that motivate me:

-Shadowing a doctor. I guess this is almost like a reminder of why you want to get involved in medicine.

It might sound crazy, but shadowing helped me regain motivation.

Not crazy at all. It's one of the things I said when the OP started this thread the first time, two months ago:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=798171

 

[kcin]

-Watching House (LOL)

All house does for me lately is make me wonder why they turned it into a soap opera

I imagine they just ran out of things to do and needed something new, it's failing kind of hard though.

ps. this thread is now about House

 

[estradiol9]

All house does for me lately is make me wonder why they turned it into a soap opera

I imagine they just ran out of things to do and needed something new, it's failing kind of hard though.

ps. this thread is now about House

I questioned pursuing medicine when Chase & Cameron broke up.

... just kidding. No, but really.. Y U NO LET DOCTORS B HAPPY 4 ONCE????

 

[Monocles]

Things that motivate me:

-Looking at my old classmates, friends, ex boyfriends that decided to go some other route and are unhappy or just became total epic fails altogether. Life's greatest comfort is being able to look over your shoulder and see people worse off, waiting in line behind you.
-Watching House (LOL)
-Shadowing a doctor. I guess this is almost like a reminder of why you want to get involved in medicine.
-Having some time off to be lazy, rest, and regain momentum so to speak.

Ah, yes. The downward social comparison.

 

[Lunasly]

This should satiate your need for motivation. You would be surprised how many people on here are depressed all the time.

That is a really motivating post. Glad to see that they are now a resident.

 

[mdtothepowerof2]

Cars. I look at cars.

I google hot girls big boobs but I can see why we differ.

Honestly I am just really competitive. I just make everything a competition even if the other person doesn't know it. Someone walking up the stairs I'll beat them. I'm on crutches no problem I will still beat them. Its fun. Probably the best thing I ever did in my life. Be Charlie Sheen and WIN.

P.S. I always thought that the thing that made me do poorly was that I was bored. Which is why I enjoyed sports. I'm not very big so beating people that were taller and bigger than me was enjoyable. Its no fun if you are smarter than someone and beat them on a test.

 

[scarshapedstar]

My motivation:

- Working three jobs for a year after I graduated just to scrape by
- Reading high school classmates "stress" about fricking MATCH DAY while I wait for a wait list
- Looking up people from college who used to ask me for study help and seeing their "check out my white coat and stethoscope" pictures
- Chewing on bits of glass while reading SDN

These things motivate me as a graduate reapp but they may motivate you, too!

Naw, seriously, what motivates me is that I volunteer at a clinic and after I interview new patients most of them are surprised to find out that I'm not the doctor. And sometimes the doctor looks over what I wrote, asks them a few questions, and says "nicely done." I know I'm on the right path, although I was a pretty good busboy too.

 

[Wolfman89]

This should satiate your need for motivation. You would be surprised how many people on here are depressed all the time.

Awesome find Iceman!

 

[PressPforPi]

OP, I didn't have any motivation entering college. It took me a year to decide what I was going to do with my life. Once I decided that I was interested in attending med school, I researched admission requirements, MCAT scores, etc. I found out that my terrible first year (cGPA 2.75, sGPA 3.5) could really hinder my goal. That cGPA lit a fire under my rear.

I began volunteering, researching, and shadowing. Shadowing has really kept my attention. From seeing procedures to meeting new patients, it has all been very interesting. If it takes you posting a picture up of a doctor in order to keep that motivation, then do it.

Remember that this is your undergrad studies. Have some fun with it. Take some electives and learn new things. Go out of your comfort zone and experience different things. (not saying to try any drugs here) Once you're done having that fun, think, "Alright, now it's time to get back to work." This is just something that works for me OP. I hope this helps you in finding what helps to keep the motivation for you. Good Luck!

 

[Stirbar]

This should satiate your need for motivation. You would be surprised how many people on here are depressed all the time.

Truly inspirational.

OP, keep your head up and look on to what is coming. When I start burning out during the semester I use a both big- and little-picture approach.

The big picture is that you are coming close to the end of another semester of school and that means you've made another huge step closer to that medical school dream we've all got.

On the small scale, take things week by week and don't look to far ahead. Overwhelming situations and upcoming events (both academic and otherwise) tend to way me down when I am considering what will be going on three weeks from now.

Finally, take a breath of fresh air, try and pick up an exercise routine (did WONDERS for me), and make time for friends/relaxation. I know it is tough to hear someone tell you to relax, but just 20 minutes of "you" time can make a pretty big difference in the clarity of mind you will carry with you to class the next day.

Good luck, bud.