In this video I'll be teaching you guys one habit, just one habit that I do.
That pretty much helped me study effortlessly every day, without motivation.
And, believe it or not, discipline is not a thing that you should rely on, which I will get later into the video.
I don't really rely on temporary motivators like willpower, shame, or even passion.
Yup.
That's right.
I don't have to be passionate about my studies, and I don't even have to shame myself into studying harder.
I've learned not to rely on these tempered motivators, because I'm gonna be real with you.
I used to be stressed as fuck whenever I studied.
Every time I would open a textbook, every time I would open a syllabus, I would just feel a sense of anxiety, and because of that I just ended up procrastinating on my studies until the very last moment.
However, I made a simple change and it not only helped me study every day without feeling shame or anxiety, but also miraculously got me top grades.
These were the grades I got in senior high school.
I got a 98% average.
Honestly, I still don't believe it and I wish I had those grades right now.
In senior dental medical school, I'm in third year now, but god damn it, it is much harder now.
Please help.
However, these were the grades I got in my first year of dental medical school and I got straight nines.
So how did I study effortlessly without feeling the need for temporary motivators like shame anger, discipline or even willpower?
Now, first, let's start with the most common misconception that most students try to do when they try to quote-unquote not rely on motivators, which is that a lot of students just tell themselves, okay, I'm gonna be more disciplined.
And that, my friends, is not true.
Believe it or not, discipline is also a temporary motivator.
Just like shame.
Just like being passionate.
Just like being motivated to study.
That's right.
Discipline is also a temporary motivator.
Now hang on a sec, what do you mean discipline as a temporary motivator?
Isn't discipline the state of working without motivation?
And the problem with that statement or that discipline is that yes, while it does not require motivation, it also requires you to be disciplined in the first place.
Like, come on, are we really disciplined every day?
I bet you watch 5 a.m. motivation videos or freaking, I don't know, David Goggins mindset videos.
And then the next day, you're just gonna go back to the same slump.
The problem with discipline is that You need to be disciplined in the first place, before doing any work.
So what about the times when we don't want to be disciplined?
What about the times when you don't have willpower?
Discipline is actually an emotion.
Now this is covered more in Dr. K's video if I would really highly recommend you guys watch it.
He's a Harvard trained psychologist and he makes really good insights into discipline.
Again, I would highly recommend checking that video out for deeper context.
But essentially, discipline is an emotion.
And I'm sure you already know that lying on any type of motivation-based emotion is not very reliable.
Any motivation that requires emotion is not that good.
And speaking of emotions, I'm sure another one that you guys use to motivate yourself is shame.
Penrose made a great video about this.
I recommend you guys watch him as well.
He also makes great videos.
But basically, a lot of students shame themselves to study.
Now, as many of you guys know, I am an iPad user and I always bring my iPad to school because I'm a dental student and, time to time, I always write my notes with my Apple pen, which is why what I'm about to show you is probably a game changer, especially if you're someone who takes notes with the iPad and that is using a textured screen protector.
Basically, having a textured screen protector just makes your iPad protective and has that satisfying texture when you're writing with the Apple Pencil.
Hence why this video is sponsored by Paperlike.
Recently they released the Paperlike 3 version, which uses NanoDots technology, which makes that iPad give that texture while not harming your Apple Pencil tip.
This is also anti-glare, so you don't have to splurge on Apple's expensive Nano Dot screen when you can just use this while giving your iPad protection at the same time.
They have this new butterfly application system, which reduces the risk of bubbles getting caught and thus getting trapped under the screen protector.
That happens so many times whenever I apply a screen protector to my devices.
So if you guys want to check out Paperlike 3, then head down to the link in the description below.
Again, thank you Paperlike for sponsoring this segment.
If you're student like me and you take handwritten notes, then Paperlike is the one for you.
Anyway, back to the video.
A lot of times, usually when having a mediocre performance in a special quiz or an assignment or in general when it comes to studying.
I bet a lot of you guys, after a quiz or an exam when you didn't do that well, went home thinking you're not good enough and you need to study harder or else you will never be good enough.
You failed the quiz, therefore you need to study harder to become good again.
And that is the problem, because it is not only a temporary motivator, but it also is something that just sets your body's nervous system into a fight or flight situation.
In other words, anxiety.
Suddenly, studying feels like an obligation.
It feels like work and your body starts telling you, I don't want to do this.
I feel unsafe about this.
I feel unsafe studying.
And because of that your brain starts conditioning yourself into seeing studying as a source of anxiety.
And it will start triggering panic within your body.
Suddenly, studying doesn't feel safe. anymore.
If you are in this problem, then you need to recondition your mind slowly so that every time you study you don't feel this sense of danger or this sense of panic.
So how the heck do you actually study every day without motivation like discipline or shame or whatever?
The simple answer is to just show up, is to simply just study as much as you can.
It doesn't really matter how well you study or how much you study, but what matters is showing up in the first place.
The problem with studying is we're so predisposed to meeting a certain expectation or a certain grade like okay, I'm going to have to reach this level of understanding of a specific subject, or else I'm going to get a really low grade, or I'm going to have to study this amount of topics.
Or students start telling themselves oh, I need to start studying this entire unit today, or else I fail.
You need to let go of those expectations and instead try to focus what you can.
Try to focus on what you can study in the first place.
It's time to let go of the toxic study culture that demands that you need to do X and Y at a certain time.
You need to do this amount of studying or that amount of studying.
You need to study 10 hours or five hours.
I want you guys to do what you can.
Just sit down, and try to study what you can at that moment.
And if you really, really cannot, then don't worry about it.
It's fine.
I think we've reached a point in a study culture where we're expecting high grades with low effort, when really what matters is you showing up to study, at least consistently.
The problem with study content nowadays and I'm sure I'm also guilty of this, but a lot of YouTubers tell you that you can study for an hour and then expect valedictorian type results.
Like, come on, that's so unrealistic.
And while I'm sure these methods that they tell you are very on point, they're not wrong.
The point I'm trying to tell you this whole time is that there's more to just studying less and getting a higher grade.
Yes, some of you may study less and get more grades, but those type of people are probably also very consistent.
They're very intentional with their studies and it's just very hard in general to just extract a single factor and say okay, just do this and you can get high grades and study less.
When it comes to studying, there's so many factors to consider and you really need to be attentive during your studies.
You need to be at least consistent with it every day.
And until now I've sometimes been inconsistent because I tend to drift towards other things in life.
The main point I'm trying to tell you, or I'm trying to make here, is not to pressure yourself to perform a certain standard just because you saw someone online having that standard.
Now, as much as I tell people that I get 98 average as well as a straight A in my high school, I want to emphasize that that's really just to show my credibility.
What I really want to encourage more is that I want you to try at least to be better than you were before.
Don't compare yourself to what you see online, compare yourself to what you were before.
Because the only person you're fighting is yourself.
Anyway...
I hope you guys enjoyed today's video.
It is so freaking cold right now.
I forgot to wear my jacket.
So I am just literally, I'm just literally wearing one sweater right now.
And then I also have a shirt also.
And currently it's 6 p.m.
So I'm gonna head to the gym in an hour.
So a little bit of a life update here.
Christmas is happening.
So I will be preparing for that.
And for people who are asking for the vlogs.
Working on it.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed today's video and I'll see you in the next one.
Don't forget to drink your water.
Bye!
