Hey there, guys and welcome back to Unjaded Jade. If you're new here, hi, my name is Jade and welcome to the final episode of Summer of Self. This series has honestly been such a joy, it's been all about introspection, self-growth, topics which dig into you and who you are. And this is the final episode for August because, let's breakout the blouse, it's back to school season. I'm going back to uni, which is really exciting and I'm also going back to uni as a published author, which is insane. So, today it seemed very fitting to take from the first chapter of my book, The Only Study Guide You'll Ever Need, which is a very pretentious name, and talk a bit about motivation. Specifically, why I love learning, why I'm motivated to study, why I really value education and why and how you can too suggested by do my thesis for me USA.

 There are two main types of motivation and it's really important to understand these in order to break down what motivates you. The most common one is what we call an extrinsic source of motivation. It's something external about the outcome from studying. For example, I want to get X grade, I want to get into this university, I want to get this job, these are all external things that you can achieve from the process of studying.

But an intrinsic source of motivation is motivated by the process itself. For example, you love learning, are you motivated by the excitement of going over a subject that you're interested in? Do you enjoy the process of putting on your favorite music when you come to study, or settling into your favorite desk, or getting a snack, or wearing a certain jumper that you enjoy wearing? Generally, intrinsic motivation is a healthier source of motivation because it can keep you going through the whole process rather than just always thinking about the end point. But, why might you not be motivated? In my book I talk about three main reasons that I think a lot of my friends, or even me in different points of my life, have not been motivated to learn. Firstly is conformity. If your friends aren't interested in school and aren't interested in learning, the odds are that you aren't either. We subconsciously copy people for social benefit, it's just what we do as humans explained by buy thesis professionally in USA.

We copy people that we perceive as better than us for some kind of gain. It's why we conform to the rules of teachers, because we respect them for academic gain. But it also means we can make poor decisions which aren't aligned with our values of wanting to do well or succeed academically if our friends aren't interested in those things. Equally, we can get a reputation, whether that is from peers, family, teachers, about the kind of things that we're going to achieve, and especially if those are negative expectations, sometimes you just find yourself conforming to that and not pushing yourself outside of what people expect of you, which is so sad because you're conforming to something that has been created for you. You almost need to set new expectations for yourself, you have to decide what you think you are capable of achieving.

Secondly, circumstance. Honestly, why would you be motivated to do well in school if your mental health is really not that great right now? Like, if you are struggling mentally, school is just... It's just not a priority. If things at home are tough, if you have personal circumstances in your life which are really challenging, it totally makes sense why you just don't really care that much about a grade on a piece of paper, and that's okay. If your house is constantly noisy and the thought of sitting down and trying to focus is just too stressful, then it is no surprise that the idea of learning is just- Why would you do it, you know? You're unmotivated to even try. This is absolutely okay, and especially when your circumstances aren't ideal you should really recognize that and hold space for yourself, especially if you are going through challenging things, like school is not everything in life and there's always extenuating circumstances. You can always talk to people about it, but don't beat yourself up if you feel like you're just not a motivated person, because it might go beyond just you.

And thirdly, lack of inspiration. So often you can't see why a topic or a subject is interesting, especially if you find it hard. When you find a subject hard, for example maths, if you struggle with maths, you don't find it interesting because you actually have a lot of fear around the fact that you don't get it. If you've decided, I don't get maths and I don't like maths, then every time you approach studying that subject you're bringing back these negative emotions of I don't like this, I don't get it, and that's not motivating. And you know what is interesting in today's day and age? A whole newsfeed which has been curated to your exact interests, and the second that you're not interested you can just keep swiping because that is what Tik Tok is, that's what social media gives you in our age.

And when we're so used to these experiences online now, where everything is immediately interesting, it is a lot harder to feel inspired by boring work that is slow and needs a lot of mental effort to understand. To give yourself that inspiration you need to convince yourself of the intrinsic value of whatever you're studying. You basically have to find reasons why it is interesting to you. What is this math used for in life that you do find interesting? How can you relate it to something that lights your passion for it? How can you see that getting better at English language, the subject, will help you one day trying to write emails for companies? Whatever it is, telling yourself a story that gets you a little bit more inspired is so important to just dragging yourself to do the work.

So that's why you might not be motivated, and that's okay. I also want to say, motivation as a thing is quite fleeting. It's basically a feeling. You feel motivated some days and you definitely won't feel motivated some, and that's okay. The important thing to do is, when you feel motivated is to put systems in place, like get yourself disciplined so the days where you don't feel like doing anything you've kind of already got a system that works for you, so you just do the work and past you, who was motivated, is being supported by future you, right now, doing the work.

So for example, if you leave this video and you feel, wow, I love learning, I feel so motivated to learn, then try downloading an app like Notion, which is a productivity tool, it lets you set up loads of to-do lists for your month, your week. Create a spreadsheet of all your subjects or topics that you have to learn and go ahead and rank them. How hard you find them, how easy you find them, actions you can take to get better in them. Create a time table or a schedule of when you're gonna go over things. Make it easier for future you while you feel this motivation now. Okay, and here are my 10 reasons why I truly love learning and I love studying. Number one, I love challenging myself.

I love that I can prove to myself that if I work hard, I can achieve something. And I love finally understanding something that I know is tough. For example, A-level chemistry was always really hard for me but then when I finally got somewhere with it, it was so satisfying. Number two, I love learning as a tool for growth. You learn so many skills when you study. You learn about discipline, you learn how to get yourself to focus, you learn what motivates you, how to do things that you don't necessarily want to do, how to juggle your time. All of these can be applied to later life and, for example, this is why I think I was able to start this YouTube channel is through the process of studying. I laid the foundations for setting consistent goals and putting actions towards them.

Number three, I love shifting my world perspective around me. Like, my whole perspective on people, on countries, on nature, everything, it changes so much the more I learn. I was so naive at points in my life, I still probably am about so many topics, but knowledge is a new lens to see the world through. It makes you feel like you can change the world or you can better understand how it works, you can be an effective part of making the planet into something brilliant. Number four, I love that working hard opens doors for the future, especially because I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Doing well academically is just giving yourself options, it means you can get into a better university, or more universities, or better jobs, to have some freedom in choosing what you want to do. Five, learning is genuinely interesting.

I feel like a lot of it is about perspective, anything can be interesting if the right person presents it to you in the right way, or if you tell yourself a story of why this thing is so incredible to so many people. I just love it, I love learning things. Number six, learning is a way to connect to others. Either you find people who really love the subject that you're studying and you can relate to them, you can chat about it, you can meet new friends. But equally, being able to learn a new language, that opens up connection to so many more people around the world. Learning about a new country or a new culture equally does that. Learning is a tool for connection. Seven, the outcomes can be so satisfying. We love the feeling of working hard and getting a grade we want.

We love reaping the rewards, proving others wrong, seeing a percentage or a letter and being like, I worked hard for that. That not motivates you, you know? Eight, it keeps life entertaining. Being brutally honest, a whole day spent only on social media or scrolling, even though it's immediately interesting in the short term, it is nothing compared to a whole day spent learning new things. And they're not mutually exclusive, you can definitely learn on social media, but being intentional about a study practice or sitting at a desk and being like, I am actually going to try and put these things in my brain, I'm gonna ask questions, I'm gonna delve deeper, I'm gonna be curious, that is interesting, that is fulfilling. Learning doesn't have to be stressful, it doesn't have to be associated with exams, it can just be for fun. And number nine, I love my low-fi playlist.

It's called Growth Mindset, you can follow me on Spotify down here, and I put it on and as soon as I hear the first song, I'm just like, oh, I love the process of studying. Like, I only let myself listen to it when I want to get into this zone and it feels kinda cozy, I've got my noise canceling headphones on. Yeah, you can just create a routine around studying and make it feel more fun. And number 10, knowledge is power. I love feeling like a knowledgeable, empowered woman who can make an impact in the world, who can empower other people to make an equally cool impact on the world. There's so much wrong with the world, we all know that, but knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you can do. If you guys are interested to dig into how you find learning and studying, here are some journal prompts that you can do in your own time. I think they will really help you reflect on what is your motivation? Why do you want to learn? And making that clear to yourself. It just keeps you going, especially when times get tough, when subjects get hard, I think it's the perfect activity to do before you go back to school or uni. So, for yourself, write down 10 reasons you love learning or studying, even write down three if that's a hard thing to do. Oh my God, actually, in the comments, write down three reasons you love learning or studying.

Because, oh my God, I can just imagine right now, scrolling through the comments and feeling how empowering it is to see everyone's reasons for why they love learning. So, go ahead and do that. Number two, what are some reasons that you don't feel motivated to learn? Is it too hard and that scares you and it brings up self-doubt? Is it boring? Do you hate your teacher? Is it the people you hang around with, and the sense of conformity, and needing to be like them, and learning is uncool? Like, what is it? Number three, choose a subject that you dislike and ask yourself why. Try and find just one reason why the subject could be interesting.

And finally, write down in present tense how you want to feel about learning. Say things like, when I pick up my pen I feel so excited to learn, I feel so excited to test and develop my knowledge, I feel inspired, I am excited to connect with others who are interested in this topic. Thank you so much for watching and thank you for following this series. If you've been here the whole way, I really appreciate it. When you guys are watching this, I am going to be in Berlin, in Germany, for my next semester, which is insane. It's crazy how quickly summer has gone. It's been amazing, I feel very healthful and rested and just like, I dunno, good in a values sense of life, in an introspective good way, which I really need summer for, just to reset. But I am very excited for adventures ahead, so yeah, definitely stick around if you want to follow my journey there and thank you so much for being a part of this wonderful community. Oh, and please give it a like if you enjoyed this video.