Were you ever lazy? How did you become more disciplined?

[Eggs n Coffee]

Okay. Has anyone in here transformed from a lazy slacker to a super motivated, A-type personality who is extremely disciplined and responsible? If so, what were your thought processes along the way as you changed, and how did you go about making that change?

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[rHinO1]

I had 2 consecutive semester withdrawals from college after high school (high school grades sucked too). I took a few years off and worked in the real world before returning to school. I have a 3.94 GPA (I'm a senior) now. I've finished #1 in my class in almost everything I've taken (or close to it). I treat school like work... it is a means to an end and I try to do more than everyone else (not to show them up, but so I know I worked the hardest). I know that if I work the hardest in the class then it will be reflected in my grade. No magic, just a lot of hard work. I guess my mindset it that if I do EVERYTHING that I can then things will work out the way I want them to... and if not then it is outside of my control because I did everything I could. I know without a doubt that I want to go into medicine and it motivates me to get to my goal.

 

[UAAWolf]

I was never "lazy", but I was much much more relaxed about high school than college. Once I got to college I realized how hard it is to get into med school...and I knew that it would take my best effort every day.


It comes down to this quote for me-

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.."

(Heard it from Drew Brees but not sure who first said it )

 

[Shinobiz11]

I had a 2.6 gpa in high school, I have a 4.0 in college. I think the key is finding what you are interested in...it is infinitely easier focusing when you are doing something you enjoy.

+1

Yeah, you just have to find your interest and keep your determination. I showed myself that if I wanted to be a doctor I would need good grades and would have to have a huge capacity for learning. This changed me a lot, especially my GPA which went from 3.0 avg for my first two years of HS to a 3.8-3.9 for last year and this year.

 

[bannie22]

love what you are doing

 

[Narmerguy]

Eh some people overstate the "love what you do". In college you're simply not going to love everything you do. In fact, you're going to downright hate some of it. Maybe even a lot of it (but if that's the case perhaps you should consider changing what you do).

I was lazy in high school but what focused me in college was knowing that the better I do now, the more options I'll have to do and go where I want, and not where other people are willing to take me. I don't want to spend my life wondering if I would have been happier if only I was capable of doing x or y.

 

[DocMcCoy]

The army beat me into physical and mental shape

 

[FloatOn]

Darn, I thought this was going to be another thread about senioritis. My only words of wisdom are just do what you have to do. If getting an A on an exam means studying for 8 hours straight, then study 8 hours straight no matter how much you don't want to. Like someone above said, you're going to have to do a lot of things in school and in life that you don't want to do, but do it anyway, do it well, and move on to the next task. "Make it work!" Thanks Tim Gunn.

 

[ButImLETired]

Fear, pure unadulterated fear. I could screw around, but I'd fall hopelessly behind, fail out of school, and be stuck with debt and no potential career. Knowing this gets me to work like nothing else will.

 

[Moose A Moose]

I took high school as a joke and spent most of it with my friends and swimming. Skimmed through with a 2.7 or so and an 1100 SAT. I think I turned around in college because of a) student loans and b) it having a direct relation to my future profession. No worries, we can all change if we wants, Eggs.

Fear, pure unadulterated fear.

..that too.

 

[sully677]

Okay. Has anyone in here transformed from a lazy slacker to a super motivated, A-type personality who is extremely disciplined and responsible? If so, what were your thought processes along the way as you changed, and how did you go about making that change?

I was a good student in high school, but I did not give a rat's a%$ about being the top student or anything. However, after my first year of college I was doing well, but I knew I could become more disciplined and do better. So I gradually began to increase my study capacity and research effort. I have always had a pretty decent work ethic, but I had to learn how to study correctly.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

if you dig yourself a big a hole as i did, you learn to be more disciplined.

 

[J ROD]

I realized my parents did not make enough money to support me any longer......

 

[circulus vitios]

I graduated high school with a 1590 new SAT score and a 3.something GPA. I took a year off after high school to work and save money. I worked in retail. The fear of having to work in retail for the rest of my life was a good motivator.

 

[Eggs n Coffee]

Thanks for all your replies.

It looks like a lot of you changed once you had to. I'm still doing well in school for now (only taking gen chem & bio with labs along with easier classes), so perhaps it's time for me to take more responsibilities. I'm sick of half-assing everything I do.

 

[J ROD]

the condom busted.....

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I was lazy once. Come to think of it, I still am.

 

[EmpathMan]

"Reach for the stars. Decide what you want to be and don't settle for anything less. Believe that you can live your dream, and then
work toward that goal, and it will happen. The worst mistake you can make is when you give up on yourself." - Terry Giles

That quote basically sums up how I've turned around my life majorly since last year.

 

[J ROD]

I was lazy once. Come to think of it, I still am.

lazy as a lazy does!!

 

[musafirah]

eh, no matter when you figure out what your goals are, i don't think most type B people can just suddenly be all type A. i'm stilll lazy. yeah, studying and doing what i LIKE and enjoy makes me (usually) get my work done. but i still wait til the last minute and cram for tests. basically i just wait until i feel under pressure and then do my best work. but i'm always busy anyway.

 

[Mopp22]

I was never lazy, just unmotivated. I didn't try my best in HS all the time because I didn't enjoy it, nor did I care. It's not that I couldn't do the work, it's that I just didn't want to. In college(4-year uni) I expect to enjoy most of my classes and I keep in mind my ultimate goal. I have something to work for that I will really enjoy and actually want to do. The learning environment makes a big difference to me too.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

the condom busted.....

dear god that would be terrible.

 

[futureNCmed]

I was lazy as hell in HS. I am actually a HS drop out applying to med school, but it works out well for me to tell the truth. In HS I just didn't have any motivation and I got lost in my teenage rebellion for a sec. But I got motivated right after I dropped out and I haven't lost it since. Once I found out what I wanted to do, it was easy to make good grades in college. I finished college with at 3.9 GPA.

If you really turn your life around after a few years of "darkness" as I call it, a lot of people will respect you for your motivation. A lot of people I"ve interviewed with for med school have loved the fact that I'm a HS drop out who's doing so well now. Of course there will still be some who look down on you for it, but whatever. The fact is, when I finally become a doctor, I will understand more of my patients b/c of what I've been through in life. A lot of people spend some time in their lives "finding themselves" and perhaps going down the wrong path and being lazy. The fact that I went through that too just means I'll be able to relate to those patients more then if I had not.

 

[psipsina]

I'm perpetually a work in progress. I disliked high school and therefore I didn't "apply myself", luckily high school is pretty easy so I had a B+ average but I certainly wasn't aiming for valedictorian. I didn't study for the SAT or ACT at all (I wasn't aware that people did???). I got into a good college and quickly realized that I was going to have to exert effort to get above a C average. I had to learn how to study from scratch via a trial and error method. I thought I was hardcore because I made flashcards every day after class and studied my flashcards for three whole days before an exam lol. Once I got to medschool I realized that I was going to have to amp it up again to stay afloat and so I trial and error'd it again. Pure fear as my motivation. Once I learned how to not drown I pushed myself to excel. I finally got the hang of 2nd year and now I'm a 3rd year. Now I have to study when I get home exhausted from the hospital, . . . more trial and error. I just keep pushing myself to excel in my current environment. If you look at my work habits today its night and day from highschool but there's been a whole lot of time to grow in between.

 

[Grey Leaf]

I had a 2.1 weighted GPA in High School. Somehow I got accepted into a decent university thanks to a good essay and ACT score. Now I have a 3.5 and rising as a sophomore along with a ton of extra curriculars.

The biggest thing is realizing that you only get one chance at this point, and sometimes more importantly, you are paying for it.

 

[amakhosidlo]

Okay. Has anyone in here transformed from a lazy slacker to a super motivated, A-type personality who is extremely disciplined and responsible? If so, what were your thought processes along the way as you changed, and how did you go about making that change?

Step 1: Get a job. Part time. The more onerous and soul-sucking the better
Step 2: Get a girl (or guy, if that's what you're into). Having someone to nag you and remind you of things helps. That and I'm pretty sure bonin' builds brain cells. At least I hope so.
Step 3: Man up. You're on an internet forum asking how to get motivated. Do you want this? Are you motivated by things you want? Do you understand what it takes to get what you want? .......What's hard about that?
Step 4: Profit?

 

[mipp0]

Fear, pure unadulterated fear. I could screw around, but I'd fall hopelessly behind, fail out of school, and be stuck with debt and no potential career. Knowing this gets me to work like nothing else will.

Ah...you just made my day. Hilarious.

I went from sub par slacker to...well, to speak humbly I do very well now in a top tier university by having realized one simple fact:

YOUR DREAM DOESN'T JUST FALL ON YOUR LAP. If you don't work hard for it, someone else who wants it more will snatch it away.

You want to be a bomb doctor? Prove it. You want to go to top medical schools? Show me you can handle it.

Mommy and daddy aren't around to light a fire under your buttocks. You gotta push yourself and want something.

Start by asking yourself, "WHY MEDICINE?"

If you can answer that question honestly (many can't, believe me), you'll find your fire buddy.

 

[mipp0]

I had a 2.1 weighted GPA in High School. Somehow I got accepted into a decent university thanks to a good essay and ACT score. Now I have a 3.5 and rising as a sophomore along with a ton of extra curriculars.

The biggest thing is realizing that you only get one chance at this point, and sometimes more importantly, you are paying for it.

Oh, and this is dead on.

YOU GET ONE SHOT BUDDY.

 

[J ROD]

dear god that would be terrible.

indeed....

 

[ElegantWeapon]

Step 1: Get a job. Part time. The more onerous and soul-sucking the better
Step 2: Get a girl (or guy, if that's what you're into). Having someone to nag you and remind you of things helps. That and I'm pretty sure bonin' builds brain cells. At least I hope so.
Step 3: Man up. You're on an internet forum asking how to get motivated. Do you want this? Are you motivated by things you want? Do you understand what it takes to get what you want? .......What's hard about that?
Step 4: Profit?

^hilarious

anyway, I didn't do well in high school (not nearly as well as i should've) because I was lazy and despite testing well did not like to do busy work (daily homework, etc). I realized late in junior year that I was wasting my potential, then the last year and a half of HS i really got serious and rocked. My diligence has lasted throughout college and up until now, where I have taken a slight break since I have gotten accepted to one of my top choice med schools and the classes i'm taking this semester have ended up being crap. Oh, and interview season is not good for missing class...Its really unmotivating lol

 

[Premeddie]

Go emo-pragmatic! That way if you ever get lazy, you'll put on tight jeans and eyeshadow and end yourself! Knowing the consequences can keep you diligent. The more extreme and irrational you are in pursuing your goal, the less time you have for introspective, world-endingly depressing nihilist thoughts about how there actually is no correct next action... it's great motivation! Just decide what you want to do once, and then live the rest of your life by that, arbitrarily, as the simplest way to live, because no part or objective of any of our lives will ever come to anything!; don't waste your life trying to pick the best one to live! We might as well keep it simple. Lemme demonstrate: "I'm gonna be a doctor!"

Being as extreme as possible is also the most fun! If you are robotic enough, you'll eventually keep working towards the goal even when you inevitably lose all interest, just because you remember deciding a long time ago that you weren't going to stop! Goodbye lazy, hello crazy! If you are extreme enough, you will cover your entire walll in mountain dew cans.

 

[deleted295924]

I graduated high school with a 1590 new SAT score and a 3.something GPA. I took a year off after high school to work and save money. I worked in retail. The fear of having to work in retail for the rest of my life was a good motivator.

Agreed...

I have good supervisors, but the thought of being 40 and working retail makes me cringe.

 

[s1lver]

I had 2 consecutive semester withdrawals from college after high school (high school grades sucked too). I took a few years off and worked in the real world before returning to school. I have a 3.94 GPA (I'm a senior) now. I've finished #1 in my class in almost everything I've taken (or close to it). I treat school like work... it is a means to an end and I try to do more than everyone else (not to show them up, but so I know I worked the hardest). I know that if I work the hardest in the class then it will be reflected in my grade. No magic, just a lot of hard work. I guess my mindset it that if I do EVERYTHING that I can then things will work out the way I want them to... and if not then it is outside of my control because I did everything I could. I know without a doubt that I want to go into medicine and it motivates me to get to my goal.

I like this approach.

 

[thepoopologist]

Every mistake I've made academically past the age of 18 has cost me money. After I graduated college it was the realization of how difficult it was to get a job that paid decently with only a bachelor's degree. Now I run on fear of failure and all the other stuff I just said. Excuse me, the Tabasco sauce has got me stomach doing cartwheels. Need to relieve myself.

 

[sapama]

Go emo-pragmatic! That way if you ever get lazy, you'll put on tight jeans and eyeshadow and end yourself! Knowing the consequences can keep you diligent. The more extreme and irrational you are in pursuing your goal, the less time you have for introspective, world-endingly depressing nihilist thoughts about how there actually is no correct next action... it's great motivation! Just decide what you want to do once, and then live the rest of your life by that, arbitrarily, as the simplest way to live, because no part or objective of any of our lives will ever come to anything!; don't waste your life trying to pick the best one to live! We might as well keep it simple. Lemme demonstrate: "I'm gonna be a doctor!"

Being as extreme as possible is also the most fun! If you are robotic enough, you'll eventually keep working towards the goal even when you inevitably lose all interest, just because you remember deciding a long time ago that you weren't going to stop! Goodbye lazy, hello crazy! If you are extreme enough, you will cover your entire walll in mountain dew cans.

 

[Sir Buckethead]

I was, like many in this thread, very lazy in HS (graduated with a 1.9 GPA) and it didnt get better in college like I thought it would. I got on academic probation and then failed out, and during the year that I spent working and traveling after failing out I grew up.

That's why i support any HS student who wants to take a gap year before college. If your problem with school is just motivation (not, say, intelligence) then go out into the world and realize how badly you need an education to be successful. Worked for me.

I just wish I could take back those 55 quarter credits of D's and F's.... sigh.

 

[Eggs n Coffee]

Go emo-pragmatic! That way if you ever get lazy, you'll put on tight jeans and eyeshadow and end yourself! Knowing the consequences can keep you diligent. The more extreme and irrational you are in pursuing your goal, the less time you have for introspective, world-endingly depressing nihilist thoughts about how there actually is no correct next action... it's great motivation! Just decide what you want to do once, and then live the rest of your life by that, arbitrarily, as the simplest way to live, because no part or objective of any of our lives will ever come to anything!; don't waste your life trying to pick the best one to live! We might as well keep it simple. Lemme demonstrate: "I'm gonna be a doctor!"

Being as extreme as possible is also the most fun! If you are robotic enough, you'll eventually keep working towards the goal even when you inevitably lose all interest, just because you remember deciding a long time ago that you weren't going to stop! Goodbye lazy, hello crazy! If you are extreme enough, you will cover your entire walll in mountain dew cans.

Is this what you've done?

 

[circulus vitios]

Agreed...

I have good supervisors, but the thought of being 40 and working retail makes me cringe.

I still work retail on the weekends. I feel like killing myself as soon as I step in the store.

 

[FirefighterDoc]

Step 1: Get a job. Part time. The more onerous and soul-sucking the better
Step 2: Get a girl (or guy, if that's what you're into). Having someone to nag you and remind you of things helps. That and I'm pretty sure bonin' builds brain cells. At least I hope so.
Step 3: Man up. You're on an internet forum asking how to get motivated. Do you want this? Are you motivated by things you want? Do you understand what it takes to get what you want? .......What's hard about that?
Step 4: Profit?

+1 hahaha love it

 

[fastboyslim]

remembering and focusing on what events sparked my passion for medicine in the first place.

 

[Slueman33]

if you dig yourself a big a hole as i did, you learn to be more disciplined.

Explain sir


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[Ultimakey]

Explain sir


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You realize this post and that comment are both 9 years old, right?

 

[Slueman33]

You realize this post and that comment are both 9 years old, right?

Oh sorry I don’t know how I stumbled here tbh and I didn’t check the date! It was pretty late last night lol


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[Ultimakey]

Oh sorry I don’t know how I stumbled here tbh and I didn’t check the date! It was pretty late last night lol


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

It’s no problem; I suggest starting your own post if you want a more-updated version of this post. Might I also suggest changing your profile picture for the sake of animosity?