Achieving my goals

There is no greater moment for one’s productivity then feeling the rush of motivation inside your veins. You feel tireless, powerful and ambitious over the top. You are ready to give yourself at 100% in order to reach your goal and no breach seems unbreakable.

To be successful you need that rush being there constantly, 24/7.

Is it possible? How could this be accomplished? Yes, it is possible indeed! And in my next blogs I’ll show you way by way how I do it.

This time I would like to tell you about one of my favourite motivation drivers - the inspiration.

Inspiration

Inspiration is a powerful tool, it’s that magic sparkle that creates miracles. Think about all the masterpieces in world art or literature history - the operas, the great novels, all of them could not be created with only hard work and talent. It needs magic and love, and desire or with one word - an inspiration for work.

Inspiration is a feeling that you gain by the outside world. For example, a painting could be inspired by nature or by music, the same goes with the literature, you can find your sources in the whole wide world around you - conversations, people or the feelings that a situation rises in you.

In my work I get inspired by success.

Of course, your own success is the mightiest motivation and inspiration driver. Reaching the long deserved goal is the best proof to yourself that you are ABLE to go big. It’s a chain reaction, success makes the dreams seem reachable.

However, what do you do if you’re still at point A and you’re yet to achieve your first big goal that will be your fuel for going ahead?

It’s easy, look around! Search the success around you, it’s everywhere out there and all you need to do is to look for it.

Movies

Movies are full of success. Even better, they are usually set over the hard way and all the struggle that’s needed to accomplish a great goal. Pick a movie with a character you admire, someone strong, charismatic or consistant is his or her job and you will instantly get inspired. Good cinema sets an example, grab them, follow them, use them for your fuel, the method never fails.

Sport programs

It always works for me. Have you noticed how many gyms put the sport channels on for their visitors? At first I was bored but then the miracle happened. Having my daily 30 minutes runs, it is really inspiring when “running next” to Bolt or some ski champions that give themselves 100% on that slope there. You feel them as your soulmates and you tell yourself that the effort pays off after all.

Books

If someone tells you that the self-help books are a fraud he or she is either lying to you or simply just doesn’t know how to effectively use them. These books can indeed make you feel inspired, they can motivate by simply making you try, giving you new points of view or new aspects that you can apply.  They may not work, but they will surely keep you inspired.

But leave aside this type of literature, every book similar to the good movie can give a nice example of a character or an attitude. Give them a chance.

Give these three a chance.

I think it’s time to share with you what I actually do when I study. Here’s a list (non-exhaustive) of the main tools I use before an exam. Enjoy! 

I read my notes consciously, then I hide them and try to write down everything I remember. Then I’ll take my notes again, and look for what’s missing. Not only it permits me to see what I still don’t know, but it also consolidates what I already know. This one really works if you have to learn pathways, key concepts, etc. Re-write as it comes to your mind, make a mind-map, use arrows, etc.

Once I identified what I don’t know, I’ll just put a mark on my notes, so I know that this specific part needs to be more reviewed.

When I feel overwhelmed by all the stuff I have to review, I’ll just divide it into sections and create a study plan! 99% of the time, this makes me realize that it’s not that terrible and I can get through this! I feel much better then!

The Forest App. I don’t use it systematically but it really helps me keeping distractions away (AKA my phone) and in the end, I can have a little peek view of my study session!

Whenever I’m reading something important that I know I won’t automatically remember, I write it down on a piece of paper. Indeed, I always use a bloc-notes when studying, so I just write down important points. By doing this, I become more active when learning and actually remember better! And sometimes I keep those pieces of paper so I can re-read them just before the exam.

I try to stick to a memorization routine. For example, if it’s the first time I read a specific topic that I have to memorize, I’ll re-read it 3 days after, then again a week after, then 10 days after, etc. This is the best way to memorize: « repetitio est mater studiorum » as my anatomy teacher says.

When reading your notes, always try to think about what could be the possible questions that are “exam askable”.

If you have any specific topics to learn about the same main subject, try to summarize each topic on only one paper sheet. It’s been proven that we tend to memorize more when we see the information only on one paper than many. For example, I’m currently preparing my microbiology exam, so I did a sheet for each virus or bacteria and put them in plastic sleeves and store them in a binder. By doing this, I’ll be able to re-read them all the days before the exam and retain the most important information! 

The textbook is cool, but sometimes I’m in a rush and summaries made from previous years students will do the job. Of course, I make sure there’re no mistakes inside. And it can actually help with difficult subjects. 

I only use flash cards for vocabulary (my dear Spanish!) or pharmacology. They are the PERFECT way to memorize some things by heart!

I multitask intelligently. For example, when I workout I listen to audiobooks or watch medical-related videos on youtube while walking on the treadmill 

I test myself. I take online quizzes, I ask some friends or my boyfriend to interrogate me so I train my brain to see the problems differently and learn more!