What makes the best, the best?

Time management. Goals Setting. Motivation. Perseverance.

These are not unfamiliar words and phrases.  “OF COURSE. If I can possess and master all these traits, I would have been the highest achiever ever.” In our hearts, every one of us knows and tells ourselves this.

Probably, many people we know already seem to master these traits, and are therefore scaling great heights in terms of achievement. Inspiring (or perhaps disheartening) as it may be if we compare ourselves to these ‘great’ role models, many of them are not as perfect as they seem.

Are the top scorers in your school studying hard right now, during the jolly Christmas season? Probably not, though it is well within their ability to do so. There may be many reasons why they are doing so well, but studying hard in the middle of the holidays isn’t one of them. It is now the time of the year when it is unforgivable to not relax and have fun with family and friends.

Let’s look at the 4 traits I listed again. If you were to rank them according to their importance, what would they be? I guess many people would feel that they are equal, the more you have of any trait, the better. However in my humble opinion, I would prioritize MOTIVATION over the others. This is because with motivation, the rest of the traits would come naturally. With motivation, I would want to set goals and learn to manage my time well. With sustained motivation, I would persevere through whatever obstacles in my way towards my goal.

It is a meritocratic society. The amount of resources available for each student is sufficient for everyone to do well in their exams, even though some students may have slightly more resources than others. What separates the best from the rest is not their resources or their ability, but their motivation. In the end, an unmotivated student with private tuition would probably not score as well as a motivated student without external academic help. This is not limited to academics, but all kinds of achievements as well: achievements in CCA, skills, games, even your waist size during a diet.

In the previous posts, we share about the steps to Goal setting and other good habits, which will be useful IF you actually use them, and this requires motivation. However, it also happens too often that our motivation is short-lived, and we give up halfway through the course towards the goal. Even though I have just stressed the importance of having motivation not only in schoolwork, but in our lives as well, what I feel is equally important is to know how to turn that initial spark of motivation into a sustained, burning flame.

That will be covered in the near future, keep checking the blog for updates!! XD