MOTIVATION DEFLATION
what’s holding you back?
There’s no shortage of kids who think about going to college or getting some
kind of training after high school, but what can be hard is maintaining the
drive and motivation to get there, especially if you’re the first in your family
to head in that direction or if your friends and family aren’t all over you about
achieving your goals.
Take a look here at just a few of the defeating messages that teens tell
themselves when it comes to thinking about the future, along with our
suggestions for reframing these beliefs.
I’m not “college material.”
Who’s telling you that? Other people? If so, they’re outta line. For the record, no one can
define who or what you are, except you.
And if it’s yourself, you’re outta line Your generation is likely to live into your 100s. Are
you going to define yourself once and for all in your teens even though you’ve probably got 84+
years ahead of you on this spinning space rock?
Replace that self-defeating thought with “I will become college material.” This may mean:
• working on your English if it isn’t your first language
• improving your basic reading and writing skills
• pushing back against low expectations that others may have for you
None of this is easy to do on your own. Fortunately, you don’t have to. Plenty of free resources
out there can help you build new skills and provide you with encouragement and support while
you do it.
College is way too much money.
Yes, college is expensive, but given the technological needs of the 21st century,
the question is “Can you afford not to get more training or education after
high school?”
With more than 6,000 colleges, universities, and training schools in the
U.S., there’s going to be a program and a school out there to help you reach
your education goals. See “How Low Can You Go” for choices you can
make to keep college costs down, and don’t forget that financial aid is available in the form of grants and scholarships. Check out the “Pay” section at
http://vsacroadmaps.org to learn about types of financial aid.
I’m not interested in anything.
How many times have your heard “Follow your passion”? and reacted
badly to the question
It's no wonder. There’s a big problem with the idea of “finding yourself”
first and then going out to live your life: VERY few young people graduate
from high school or college with complete certainty about the future.
The reality is that most people who love their work didn’t look inside themselves, especially in their teens, and then plan a life. On the contrary, through
their interactions with the world, they saw problems that challenged or
intrigued them; or they found things that they became curious about. For
example, perhaps a young woman whose relative contracted HIV from a
blood transfusion will feel called to help cure that disease; or maybe a
young man whose father lost a limb in the Middle East decides
to study occupational therapy.
In most cases, finding and following your passion happens
through a slow process of encountering all of life’s different facets
and responding to the situations to which you feel you can best
bring your strengths to bear — whether that’s fixing farm equipment in your agricultural community or becoming an investment
advisor to help families weather the economy.
• Boys & Girls clubs — There are more than a dozen sites across the state. Any one of
them is a positive place to hang to start ramping up your ambitions and abilities. Check
with your guidance office or go to www.bgca.org/Pages/index.aspx and type in your ZIP
code to find the location nearest you.
• Community College of Vermont (CCV) — Academic advisors at CCV can meet with you to
help you set goals, identify possible stumbling blocks to success, and create a plan to
overcome those challenges. Go to www.gotocollegevt.org for info on the school’s free
Introduction to College Studies classes at the 12 CCV academic centers around the state.
• Volunteer opportunities — This is a great way to meet people who can mentor you and
answer your questions about the future.
Become a mobster! Join the Green Mountain Crop Mob (http://greenmountaincrop
mob.weebly.com) to help local farmers with everything from harvesting to greenhouse
construction.
Want to work with the disabled? See if the local stable gives riding lessons for the
handicapped. If so, offer to help lead the riders.
Like being outdoors? Check www.vtstateparks.com/htm/volunteering.htm to learn about
the volunteer opps at Vermont’s state parks.
Interested in health careers? Call the local hospital or visit your local community
health center to see what you can do to help out.
Partial to your video games? Contact game developers and ask to be a beta tester.
The point is that there’s always somewhere to volunteer, even if it’s your local chocolatemaker. You’ll find lots to learn, and you’ll learn that you have something to offer. For ideas,
visit http://vermont.gov and type “volunteer” in the search box.
Do you have
reusable bags
today, ma’am?
Yes,
thanks ...
OK, so the new
skate park will be
ready to go next
month?
This is the work and journey of a lifetime, so if you can’t figure
it all out now, don’t sweat it. Today your passion may be World
of Warcraft. Ten years from now, it’ll be different (we hope). You
don’t have to have all the answers now. Just remember to remain
open — always. Whether you know it or not, you’re meeting people
all the time who could influence your path in life.
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thinking about your future: motivation deflation — what’s holding you back?
MOTIVATION CREATION what you can do today
Bach rocks your brain power, but
rock banishes brain fog. Educational
Does thinking about the future feel overwhelming? Perhaps it’s because it’s likely that up to 80 percent of the jobs
you may have as an adult don’t even exist yet. If you do know what you want to do when you grow up, great! If not,
just change the question.
psychologists have discovered that music with 60 beats
a minute may actually help you learn, so try playing a
little Bach or Handel in the background while you study.
(Yes, you can learn to like classical music.)
Instead of “What do I want to do?”, ask yourself “What can I do today to get myself ready for tomorrow?” Most of
this boils down to getting to know yourself and what you need in order to motivate and interest yourself in the future.
The rest of it involves familiarizing yourself with the incredible number of careers out there. Use the info on the next
few pages to stick your toe in the water (or dive in head first if you’re ready!).
Stay out of the weeds. Set small goals for
your schoolwork so assignments don’t swamp you; and
when you meet those goals, set more goals. Always keep
them small so they remain manageable. For example,
“Write my book report” during study hall may be too big.
“Summarize the plot” might be a good first step. That
night, try outlining the characters and their relationships.
For Thursday study hall, list what you liked and disliked
about the story. Did you find it interesting, moving, dull?
Would you recommend it to others? Why or why not? What
are the strengths and weaknesses of the story? Break
down the assignment until the steps are small enough to
feel manageable. How “granular” can you get?
Let VSAC guide you on the road to
the future (vsacroadmaps.org).
VSAC is here to help you on your road to college or other
training after high school. Visit our Roadmap to College for
career exploration tools and activities, ways to connect
interests with training programs or college majors, planning tips, and other ways to get started:
• define your goals
Contemporary music, on the other hand, has a rhythm
of 100–140 beats per minute. While this can lower your
brain’s ability to retain information, just 20 minutes of
moving to it can banish fatigue. So when you start to
drag, take a study break to dance, walk, or work out to
music that moves you — literally and figuratively.
Walk in someone else’s footsteps.
Find out how other Vermont students got from where you
are to where they are. Watch them at www.vsac.org/stories
and see what they have to say about their experiences.
You can also view national stories at http://www.imfirst
.org/#stories.
• What similarities can you find between your
story and theirs?
• identify your interests, strengths, and preferences
• explore careers and connect them to further education
• What parts of their experiences can you use
or learn from?
• get reminders, feeds, and tips on important dates,
deadlines, and local events
Build a support team. If you’re even remotely
See yourself there. Some Saturday when there’s
interested in pursuing some kind of training or education
after high school, don’t keep it to yourself. Tell people
you know, “I want to go.” Parents, teachers, counselors,
athletic coaches, religious leaders, your friends’ older
siblings, the boss at your after-school job, the couple you
babysit for, your town clerk, the guy whose lawn you mow,
or your local librarian — all of these people may be able
to provide encouragement and answers if you have questions. Think of them as your college support team.
nothing to do, step away from the video games and take
a walk around the nearest Vermont college campus. Hang
out in the library and the snack bar. Is the art building
open? How about the science labs or gym? Check the
notices on bulletin boards. Do you feel comfortable there?
You can also “like” a college’s Facebook page so you
can start interacting with current students, learn their
vocabulary, glimpse their state of mind, and join a chat
with an admissions officer. You’ll become familiar with
college life, customs, and expectations before you ever
put your foot on a campus. Choose a school, any school,
at www.vtcolleges.org.
The next day at the Parks Department …
Ignore your brain — or at least the negativity
it produces. We all know that voice inside our head: the
one that says we won’t pass that exam, that we can’t
finish the project, that the teacher doesn’t like us, that
we’ll never get where we want to go …
Guess what? You don’t have to believe everything you
think. Much of our mood depends on what we pay
attention to, and we’re hardwired to focus on the negative.
This may have worked for our Ice Age ancestors who were
running from saber-toothed tigers, but today not so much.
With practice, you can change those messages.
Start by imitating one particular habit of truly driven
people, who thrive on their achievements. Every night,
write down two or three accomplishments from the day.
They don’t need to be earth-shaking; they can be as
simple as “replaced my shoelaces.” Recalling positive
events — no matter how insignificant they may seem to
you — can get you out of that “nothing ever goes right”
frame of mind.
One day, in the staff breakroom …
Skate magazine designer
Sweet, I never thought
about design before.
Maybe I should talk to
someone about this.
skills …
education …
I’m really interested in
the new skate park. I’ve
been skating since I
was seven.
Well, we ARE
looking for a
volunteer to
supervise after school.
thinking about your future: motivation creation — what you can do today
experience …
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