Motivation to Learn

1. Most important aspect of learning

Motivation is almost the most important, if not the most important, quality needed for success.

This bold statement does not only apply to studying, but all walks of life. Recently, I chatted to a colleague at work about her son, who is now a young adult. She stated that he simply is not motivated to learn. He is scoring way below average results, yet she said that he is not stupid. As a kid, he knew the name of every single dinosaur. He was virtually a walking encyclopaedia on dinosaurs. Yet, today, he says that he understands the work in class, but cannot remember it.

This is the same kid that could tell the difference between a brachiosaurus and a brontosaurus, or a tyrannosaurus and an ankylosaurus. These are not easy words. Most educated adults will struggle!

The big difference between now and then is his motivation to learn.

Without him getting motivated again, there is simply no hope for him to capture the brilliance that he promised as a child.

2. John's study session

It's seven o'clock and John is very keen to study. He means well and lays out his work neatly on his desk. He carefully readjusts everything again. His books are piled, neatly, one upon the other. He starts to read.

As he reads, he starts to yawn. Feeling a bit tired, he thinks he has to get some fresh air and perhaps something to drink.

As he walks to the kitchen, something catches his eye on the T.V. He tells himself that he would just watch until the next commercial break. It's half an hour later and he is still not sitting with his books. His mother questions him about when he is going to study. He complains that she should stop nagging.

It's now an hour later and still no studying has been done. After some more 'nagging', he decides to get back to his room and start working.

He's back at his desk, still staring blankly at his books, when the cell phone beeps. It's an SMS from his best friend. Eventually they get into a 'chat' that lasts longer than he imagined it would...

Once more he attempts to start, but remembers the drink he had forgotten when he initially went to the kitchen.

After a fight with his little sister, some more T.V., a snack, which turned into a feast, and a few more SMS's, he is eventually back at his desk.

Two hours have passed and still no studying has been done.

He starts reading again, but the weight in his stomach from the feast he had seems to be pulling his eyelids closed. He puts his head on the desk and tells himself: 'Only five minutes...'

And so on, And so on...

3. What's wrong?

The above examples highlight two factors:

• Motivation is difficult

• Reading difficult text books are not fun

Could it be that the current method of reading difficult text books can kill any motivation that may have been there to start with?

John only has two options. He either studies as he has been doing and does poorly, or he doesn't study and still does poorly. In the first case he could prove himself to be stupid, incapable and a failure.

If he doesn't study, he would still be a failure, but at least he'll have an excuse. He might even get respect from certain pupils for being 'brave enough' not to study.

Either way, he is still a failure.

Tony Buzan calls this 'Brains in quandary' in the Mind Map® book. It highlights the fact that normal linear notes in one colour have the following shortcomings:

• They obscure key words

• They make it difficult to remember

• They waste time

And most importantly of all:

• They fail to stimulate the brain creatively

4. What are the consequences?

• We lose our powers of concentration

• We start making notes on notes

• We experience loss of confidence in our abilities

• We lose the love of learning so evident in young children

• We suffer from boredom and frustration

• The harder we work, the less we progress

5. What's the solution?

By combining the facets in my 'Perfect Memory' section, learning can actually become fun.

Imagine putting together a colourful jigsaw puzzle that will eventually reveal the full picture. The study method used should be exactly that, except you decide what the picture should be. You decide the colours, the branches, the order, etc.

This jigsaw puzzle method of studying will be discussed in the 'Study Methods' section.

6. Why is motivation needed?

Researchers at the London school of Medicine and Dentistry conducted a research on the Efficacy (effectiveness) of the Mind Map® Study method.

They concluded:

"Mind maps provide an effective study technique when applied to written material. However before mind maps are generally adopted as a study technique, consideration has to be given towards ways of improving motivation amongst users." (Farrand P, Hussain F, Hennessy E.)

This shows that even with a great study method, such as Mind Mapping®, motivation is still needed to achieve the desired results.

7. Getting motivated

Getting motivated to learn involves two actions:

• Goal Setting

• Applying studying methods that are colourful, fun and effective

What would you say to a method that can cut your study time by more than half, be fun and give you better results?

Check out the Study Methods section!